Destiny
by Tsukiyo Sousuke
Summary: Chidori and the party pursue the traitor Kira deep into the Arcane City of Magic, Geffen, determined to make him pay for his betrayal. What lies before them, though, is a plot far more complicated, as it throws the balance of Midgard entirely off track...
1. Dark Moon! Night of the Leaping Flames!

**Chapter One: Dark Moon, Night of the Leaping Flames**

The moon shone brightly above a lush green field, illuminating it like an ever watching eye. The field was still and barren, not to mention totally quiet. Not even the sounds of the night animals could be heard.

Suddenly, as if to intrude this harmonious place, a dark shadow moved silently through the field with total stealth. Clad entirely in black, it moved so swiftly that no one could have possibly detected it, not even a skilled hunter.

Then, just as abruptly as he had appeared, the figure suddenly stopped in its tracks. It raised his head and sniffed the air. There was a scent, faint but detectable, hanging in the air. The figure knew this smell, and as it looked high into the air, large horns protruded from its head, as if reaching for the stars above.

Miles away, more silhouettes made their way through the darkness. Unlike the previous shadow, they were far more in number and less careful as they marched loudly and openly into the field. As they stepped out from the darkness and into the moonlight, the lunar goddesses revealed their true identity. Possessing green, scaly skin and huge tusks that shot out from their wide open mouths, they were undoubtedly orcs. They continued to march towards the first figure, who had apparently stopped in the middle of the field, as if awaiting them.

The platoon stopped before the creature, and from within their ranks, a huge giant marched out. He was much larger than the other orcs, and he bore a gold crown upon his forehead, which was decorated with various feathers by the edges. In his hands he brandished a large axe, albeit a peculiar one. It had only one hilt, but from it sprang three blades, each set parallel to each other. Blood red in colour, it seemed to radiate an evil glow. There was no mistaking it, the legendary Blood-seeking axe Sabbath, rumoured to be able to take down even a knight in a single blow. And the wielder of Sabbath was none other than the mighty Orc Hero, leader of the orcish warriors.

With a grunt, the Orc Hero questioned, "What… u…. want…. with…. us….." The first figure replied in fluent speech. "I happen to have urgent dealings in Prontera, and the fastest way there would be through your village. I know that by doing so, I have trespassed on your territory, but shall you be kind enough to let me pass, I will repay that favour by leaving each and everyone of you unscathed."

There was a great murmur in the orcish troops, as the Orc Hero roared in anger. "How… dare…. you…. threaten….. us……" he bellowed. "ATTACK!"

At his command, the entire army surged forward, making their way to the mysterious figure. It was heavily outnumbered, and it seemed that it would soon be trampled to death by the charging orcs.

Without warning, the ground below the orcs suddenly gave way into a giant, slimy quicksand. The quicksand held them tightly in place, as they struggled to free themselves. Ironically, the harder they tried, the faster they were engulfed by the horrendous, green slime.

"Quag… mire…." Orc Hero grunted. This was a very high level Earth element magic, one that not many wizards chose to master. Both time consuming and tiring, one would usually be dead before the sand could trap the opponent. However, those who insisted on learning and mastering the technique were handsomely rewarded. Once executed, the spell would generate a giant sandpit, large enough to consume and entire army, to hold all adversaries in place. The sand who grasp the enemies tightly, giving the spell caster enough time to channel another more destructive spell, or make his getaway. The feared Wizard spell, Quagmire.

The figure looked at the Orc Hero and said, "This is your final warning! Let me pass or be reduced to ashes before me!" Orc Hero roared in anger, "Nobody…. threatens….. Orc….. Hero!" With an inhuman leap, he jumped high into the air, over the quagmire, and brought his axe right above the figure.

The figure calmly raised his hand. A giant wall of fire flew up before him and shielded him from the mighty orc. Caught by surprise, the Orc Hero stumbled to the ground, as more and more walls of fire sprang up, pushing him further and further behind. This was undoubtedly another wizardry skill, the fire wall. As the Orc Hero struggled to regain posture, the figure pointed his index finger at him, and began a spell chant.

By now, the Orc Hero had already regained balance, and had begun to strike at the firewalls, threatening to crush them. With a few mighty strokes, he demolished the first wall, and went in to the destroy the second. The figure was still chanting under his breath, as a fireball began to slowly circle him.

With a powerful blow, the Orc Hero destroyed the second wall, and rushed in to break the third, final wall. The figure suddenly opened his eyes, and said out loud the final, crucial words. "SIGHTRASHER!"

The fireball, which had previously encircled the figure, split into eight balls of flame and flew in all directions. One of them caught the Orc Hero in the chest, and he was knocked back flying. As he landed, he trod on a hidden landmine. Chords of fire sprang up beneath him, wrapping around him like vines of poison ivy. No matter how hard the Orc Hero tried, he couldn't break free. This was yet another fire spell, the Fire Pillar, a hidden trap that would lie in ambush, only to explode when trod on, and hold the victim tightly in place, leaving him to the mercy of the caster.

The figure looked at the helpless Orc Hero, before turning his back towards him. "I shall take my leave now," he said curtly. Still struggling, the Orc Hero roared back, "Wait!" The figure looked back, as the Orc Hero continued, "Tell…. me…. your…. name….."

Pausing for a moment, the figure slowly removed its hood. Beneath it, was an extremely large helm, with two horns shooting up from the sides. The figure then proceeded to take off the helm, revealing the face of a young, beautiful girl, barely the age of 18. She had dark black hair, which was kept short till shoulder length, and also smooth, white skin. Her eyes were of a piercing brown, sharp and intimidating, looking straight at the Orc Hero.

"Chidori," she said coldly. "Yukino Chidori. Despite my name, I am actually a master of the flames. Remember my name well. Chidori, the incarnation of the fire." With that said, she once again put on the helm, and continued her journey through the field.

Huge storm clouds covered the moon, shutting out the moonlight. However, the world beneath it was still brightly lit, illuminated by the huge fires of the mysterious wizard, Chidori.


	2. The task I was entrusted to! Assasin Sky

**Chapter 2: The task I was entrusted to! Assassin Sky**

The scorching sun beat down harshly on the vast deserts of Morroc, driving the temperature up to unbearably high degrees. Across the desert, pickies hopped, scorpions scuttled, and wolves ravaged. There was not a single human soul in sight, for not many would bear to put themselves in such torture just for the sake of petty experience. Treasure hunters avoided the deserts too, for there wasn't much to gain here, save an occasional mink coat from the desert wolves.

However, the heat wasn't the only reason many travelers steered clear of the Sograt Deserts. There were rumours of strange creatures appearing every now and then. Huge parties supposedly vanished in the desert. Various assassins and rouges of their respective guilds were reported missing. Even the normally gentle sand had turned hostile. Great sandstorms whipped across the earth, covering everything within it with a coat of sand. Huge pillars of sand would mysteriously rise up from the ground, and crumble within a few days, usually upon the head of an unsuspecting novice. The sudden hostility of the sands had led many to believe that supernatural forces were at work, and promptly avoid the deserts at all cost.

Today, however, a valiant young warrior, bearing upon his chest the emblem of the Prontera Chivalry, marched grandly towards the desert. Slung upon his shoulders was a large, two handed blade, a slayer to be exact. Grinning ear to ear, he left the Golden Gates of Prontera and continued on his way towards the Sograt Desert, towards the hidden assassin guild. The location of the guild was a well-kept secret, and only those of supreme authority, like the King of Prontera knew. Those who wished to become an assassin had to pass a test carried out within the walls of the pyramid. Only then were they given the true location of the guild, and even then they had to swear an oath of secrecy to forever protect the whereabouts of their guild.

This young swordsman was overjoyed. To think that the Lord Knight of Prontera, Sir Malcolm Shark, had sent him on this dangerous mission! He was to search for the assassin guild, hidden deep in the desert, and report to him where the guild truly stood. Only then would he be officially knighted as a royal knight of Prontera. This was a mission even high ranked veteran knights did not dare to accept. To think that he, Lee Shen Hwa, was given such a chance! He was overjoyed!

Little did he know that, what the Lord Knight meant by saying "Go look for the assassin guild", a widely used metaphor, was telling to give up. To search for the assassin guild without directions was as impossible as fishing for a needle in the sea – to be knighted as a knight at such a low level was just as impossible. Shen Hwa however, had taken his words too deeply, and much too literally.

As he began his search for the hidden guild, Shen Hwa whipped out his Slayer and began slashing at various creatures standing in his path. Wolves, Scorpions, Drops, Pickies, nothing could stop him! He was, after all, the one given such a great responsibility! How could these small critters stop him?

Laughing all the way, he sliced down monster after monster, and continued his search for the legendary assassin guild.

Miles away, another person was swiftly making his way through the desert. albeit a much deeper, much more dangerous part of the desert. Here, the sand had not only turned hostile, it had also turned aggressive. Giant sandstorms constantly blew across the land, covering the desert like a huge veil. Quick sands covered almost every square inch of the area, opening up to swallow anyone who dared to enter its territory. Mirages haunted the area, often leaving a person wandering in circles for days, before finally dying of exhaustion. Huge abomination roamed the area, stone statues given life through some maleficent force. This stretch of the desert was so intimidating, no one usually dared to enter it.

Yet, unbeknownst to many, this dangerous place actually housed a giant secret. Within the great sand veil, the countless sandpits and the endless mirages was the legendary assassin guild, home of the assassins. The stone golems were actually puppets, controlled via magic by the mysterious guild master, as were the various traps he conjured. The guild master was an extremely skilled assassin, both in skill and intellect. No one dared to oppose him; no one could.

As the figure dashed through the sand, the sandstorm opened a way for him to pass. The quagmires sealed themselves up, and the golems bowed curtly to him before making way. Mirages vanished before his eyes, as he left the assassin guild, headed towards his next destination – the Golden Gates of Prontera. As he ran, he recalled the briefing his guild master had given him on his mission.

"As you know, Sky, the world is changing, for the worse. Disasters are befalling Rune Midgard, and the end of the world is fast approaching."

"Sky, Ragnarok is here."

The assassin sky stood before his guild master, too shocked for words. Sensing his disbelief, his guild master continued. "You may think that the legend of Ragnarok is merely a myth. That those tales told long ago are merely fables and stories. However, this is not true, I assure you."

Sky opened his mouth to protest, only to find that no sound would escape his throat. His guild master went on. "You ask for proof? I'm sorry Sky, but that I cannot give you." Reaching into his robes, he extracted a thick envelope, and handed it to Sky. "I would have loved to share this with you, but alas, this is strictly confidential, strictly between me and King Tristram III only. I need you to deliver it to him personally. I trust you can do this, no?"

Finally regaining his ability to speak, Sky bowed before his guild master and said, "Do not worry, Guild Master…. I will deliver this even if it costs me my life."

Satisfied, Sky's guild master said, "Very well Sky. I shall open the passage out of the guild, and into the wilderness. May you have a swift and easy mission, Sky, and may the gods smile upon you."

Bowing once again, Sky turned to take leave, and proceeded to make his way to Prontera. After he was out of earshot, the Guild Master then said to himself, "I'm really sorry Sky, but this is the only way…."

"If the prophecy comes true, we will undoubtedly perish. However, I hope to at least save one member from this disastrous fate…."

"Go, Sky, far away from this accursed valley, and may you survive this deadly fate set upon us all."

END OF CHAPTER TWO

For those who gave reviews for my first chapter, I sincerely thank you. All your comments have helped me better my story. Hoped you enjoyed this chapter too.


	3. Shen Hwa's encouter! Mighty Sonic Blow

**Chapter 3: Shen Hwa's encounter! The mighty Sonic Blow**

"BASH!"

Shen Hwa, the two-handed swordsman, delivered a crushing blow towards an unsuspecting desert wolf. Having being struck by surprise, the poor critter was too stunned to do anything, as Shen Hwa once again hit the creature on its head. With a sick, cracking sound, its skull split into two, and it lay on the floor, dead.

Shen Hwa watched as the monster slowly disappeared in a sparkle of gold light, hoping that it would perhaps leave behind something valuable. As the carcass slowly vanished, Shen Hwa spotted an unusually long object lying in the sand. He quickly thrust his greedy hands into the sand, and his fingers wrapped around solid steel. A grin slowly formed upon his face, as he pulled the artifact up. Within his palms was a long, curved dagger, one he was all too familiar with – a stiletto.

Grinning broadly, Shen Hwa threw the dagger into his backpack, which was full of other stuff from the nearby monsters. Cartons of milk lay in a heap, beside a pile of rumpled feathers and scorpion stingers. His entire loot wasn't worth much, but it was enough to fill his stomach and sharpen his blade. The stiletto, however, made great difference. Many thieves and rouges would pay quite a sum for it, for it was both durable and efficient. In fact, many rouges preferred to use a stiletto in place of their much more expensive cousins, the gladius, for their dagger throwing arts – it was cheaper to fling stilettos around than to hurl gladiuses through the air.

As he looked around, Shen Hwa found himself gazing at a large bird. Orange feathers lined its body. It large, sturdy blue beak was decorated by various patterns, which coursed through it like a kaleidoscope. It had strong feet made for running, and also keen eyes to spot any hodes which poked their tiny heads above the ground. Once it spotted its prey, it would attack savagely until the enemy went down in defeat. It was a Peco Peco, a large animal commonly used by knights as a form of transport. They were usually bred by the Prontera Knight chivalry for battle purposes, and were rarely found it the wild.

Shen Hwa drew his sword and licked his lips hungrily. The reason Peco Pecos were scarce in the wild was partially caused by the frequent capturing and taming of this species by the knights, but the main reason was due to their delicious meat. Peco Peco meat was widely regarded as a delicacy throughout the world, and only the rich could afford to salvage them. Shen Hwa's stomach began to grumble, and only then did he realize he hadn't had any breakfast at all.

"Today must be my lucky day," Shen Hwa chuckled. "First a stiletto, now a good meal. Thank you Odin, for blessing upon me such luck!"

Slowly but steadily, Shen Hwa crept up upon the creature, who was apparently oblivious to the danger it was in. Whipping his sword out, Shen Hwa struck the beast with all of his might and roared, "BASH!" His sword connected with the Peco Peco's large bulk, and his sword tasted blood. The Peco Peco let out a shrill cry, as Shen Hwa withdrew his sword and prepared for a second blow.

Boiling with anger, the Peco Peco lunged forward at Shen Hwa, at the same time crying loudly, as if issuing a battle cry. Shen Hwa gracefully avoided the creature's jaws, before making a skillful maneuver around it and once again stabbing it in its back. As he pulled his sword out, he could sense the large bird losing consciousness from the loss of blood. Moving in for the finishing blow, he aimed directly at the Peco Peco's eyes, and planted his sword right between them. Blood gushed out of the wound like a fountain, as the dying creature let out a final cry, before falling down to the ground. Satisfied, Shen Hwa sheathed his sword and prepared to carry the bird right to the desert oasis of Morroc, where it would hopefully fetch a high price.

Suddenly, he felt a killing instinct approach him from his back. His well trained muscles immediately sprang into action, bringing him out of harm's way and away from the danger. He looked behind him, only to find another Peco Peco there, its beak planted deep in the sand, the exact same place he had stood just a few seconds ago.

From his right he saw another shadow approaching him, and he immediately brought up his sword to parry the blow. There was a sharp clang as an object, bearing the force of a jackhammer, struck his slayer. The impact of the blow was so powerful that he was knocked back, falling onto his rear. He glanced up, only to see another similar Peco Peco there, next to the one who had previously assaulted him. As he looked to his left, he saw two more Peco Pecos approach the two and joined them, forming a formation of four.

"This is bad," he thought. He had no idea what had caused this sudden attack of Peco Pecos, but he had a slight hint that it had something to do with their now lifeless comrade, which now lay on the floor. He also guessed that the Peco Pecos were nothing more than wild beasts – beasts which obeyed the law of nature.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. What goes around comes around.

Shen Hwa slowly stood up, facing the four attackers. He had no choice. It was kill or be killed. It was time for him to prove his worth!

With a cry of fury, Shen Hwa charged at the herd of Peco Pecos, sword raised high. The Peco Pecos responded by emitting a shrill cry, before charging at Shen Hwa. Flailing his sword wildly, Shen Hwa sent multiple slashes in random directions, some hitting the Peco Pecos on their beaks, some grazing their bodies, and some missing the target completely. This only served to make the Peco Pecos even angrier. They retaliated by driving their sharp beaks right into the frail body of the lone swordsman, who was trying desperately to defend himself against his four assailants.

Finally running out of energy, Shen Hwa collapsed onto the ground, too tired to even move. He gazed into the clear, azure sky, so peaceful and beautiful. How he wished he had stopped to enjoy these moments longer! "Darn…" he said, as the Peco Pecos closed in for the killing blow. "Dead before I even become the next Lord Knight…." He looked into the giant, glowing sun, which was gradually being shielded by a rare cloud. "Oh Odin," he lamented, as the desert was plunged into a momentary darkness. "Have you lost your sight in your one good eye too?"

Closing his eyes and bracing for the worst, Shen Hwa closed his eyes, and braced himself for the pain. He heard the whooshing of the air, and he knew that the Peco Pecos were bringing their beaks upon him. He would feel the pain any moment now.

There was a sharp clang, as the Peco Pecos let out a shrill cry. It was, however, different from the previous cries. It was a cry of agony, mixed with a emotions of anger and confusion. Curious, Shen Hwa opened his eyes.

Before him, clad in a jet black robe, was a large figure, which had apparently moved in and intercepted the blow. "You find, kid?" The mysterious figure asked as he turned his neck to look at him. The figure had snow white hair, juxtaposing his dark outfit. His mouth was covered by a black mask, and upon his hand he bore a strange weapon. It resembled an iron glove, only with blades jutting out from the tip.

It was a katar. And the only profession which could wield the katar was the assassin class.

Too shocked for words, Shen Hwa merely nodded. This satisfied the assassin, as he turned back towards the Peco Pecos. "Good," he said, "In that case, sit back, relax, and watch me deal with these guys, the professional way."

Shen Hwa didn't know what to do, except nod his head once again. This however, seemed to be enough, as the assassin raised his katars above him. "By the way," he said, "My name is Sky Zanryuu, one of the assassins of the assassin guild. Now behold my power."

Sky counted the number of Peco Pecos. "One… Two… Three…. Four in total…. That's not a very nice number…." He muttered. His mind flashed back to the brown letter he was sent to deliver. "I'll have to make this quick…"

With a sudden flash, Sky was gone. The Peco Pecos stood there in surprise. They had, after all, never seen a human disappear before their eyes before. Not knowing what to do, they stood there blankly, as if waiting for Sky to reappear.

Suddenly, the ground below one of the Peco Pecos ripped open, as Sky once again resurfaced beneath them. Lunging forward, he swung his katar high into the air, below the beak of a single Peco Peco, and roared, "Grim Tooth!" His katar penetrated the creature's beak, and ripped apart its brain. The bird was dead before it even fell on the floor.

Upon seeing this act of cruelty carried out towards one of their kind, the remaining three Peco Pecos cried in rage as they charged at Sky. Sky, however, was ready, as he swung his katars skillfully in a circle, hurling the Peco Pecos back. As they were knocked back by the impact, Sky glided towards the nearest one and impaled his katar deep in its belly, drawing blood and killing the creature.

The remaining two Peco Pecos did not give up, though. Mustering all their remaining energy, they leapt at Sky, threatening to crush him beneath their feet. Sky knew he had to act fast, before he became another hole in the ground. Making a sudden sprint backwards, he retreated to safety while crying "Back Sliding!" The Peco Pecos landed on the ground, just as Sky moved in for the final blow.

"SONIC BLOW!"

There was a crimson red flash, and Sky was gone. A split second later, eight supersonic strikes could be heard, and sky soon reappeared behind the Peco Pecos, katars stained a deep red. He had just performed his ultimate skill, the Sonic Blow. A skill which was so powerful, it couldn't be seen with the naked eye. In a fraction of a second, Sky would perform eight super-fast, super-deadly blows, which would pierce the eight weakest parts of the body – the brain, the eyes, the throat, the heart, the elbows, the wrists, the stomach, and the groin. The skill usually resulted in death, and in rare cases, severe injury.

Behind him, there were two loud thuds, as the remaining two Peco Pecos fell to the ground, dead.


	4. Downpour! Fateful First Encounter!

**Chapter 4: Downpour! Fateful First Encounter**

Dark clouds gathered over the skies of Prontera, the sign of an impending storm. Outside, merchants were busy gathering their merchandise and closing their shops, before the rain came pouring down in torrents. They silently cursed under their breaths, lamenting their ill fate; rainfall meant shortened vending hours.

Without warning, the rain came down, beating hard upon the stony floors of the Prontera streets. Merchants who weren't fast enough swore loudly, as they stuffed all their goods into their pushcarts and hurried to shelter. The entire town fell silent, and soon only the sound of rain crashing down onto the pavement could be heard.

A lone figure, draped in a long, traveling cloak, slowly made his way out of Prontera. He was soaked from head to toe, but it seemed that he didn't mind it at all. His footsteps were oddly light and quick. It seemed as though he wasn't carrying any defensive gear at all. With great speed, he made his way to the giant golden gates of Prontera, eager to cross over to the outside world.

"Stop there, Kira," a voice called out from behind. The cloaked figure paused in his tracks, before speeding up towards the gates.

"Running won't help you," the voice called out again. "So just give up will you?" Kira ignored the voice and continued to run. He needed to make it out, he had to! He had risked his life for this moment! He wasn't about to let some other guy foil his dreams!

Kira ran, and soon the golden gates came into view. Seeing this further motivated Kira, as he sped up towards it. The exit was only few feet away! He was going to make it! He was saved!

Suddenly, Kira saw a dark shadow dart out before him, cutting off his escape. Before Kira could stop and analyze the situation, a fist flew forward and punched him in his face. Kira retreated, as he felt the warm trickle of blood flow down his lips – the attacker had broken his nose.

"That's better," the attacker said. He, too, was dressed in a similar fashion, having a long cloak wrapped around him. He however, was far taller than Kira, being almost 6 feet tall. He flexed his fists, and continued, "Why did you run, Kira?"

Kira said nothing, his right hand still clutching his bleeding nose. His left hand, however, was pressed against his cloak, near his heart, as if hiding something inside his cloak. At the sight of this, the attacker's lips curled. "Hand it over to me, now." He commanded in a menacing tone. Once again, Kira remained silent, except this time, he demonstrated the point by shaking his head.

"Pity," the figure said. "I was hoping that we could be friends." Cracking his knuckles, he ran towards Kira, and pulled his fist back, ready to strike. Kira closed his eyes, ready for the impact.

A pink barrier suddenly flew up from beneath Kira, separating him from the assaulter. The attacker's fist hit the barrier and bounced off harmlessly. Seething with rage, he turned around to see who had cast the spell.

Behind him was yet another cloaked figure, only this time, that figure had two large, protruding horns shooting up from its head and reaching up towards the dark, stormy sky. Like the others, it was clad totally in black, shielding its identity from everyone.

"So… cloaks the latest fashion craze is it?" it said, its voice much resembling a girls'. The tall attacker clenched his fists in anger. "Mind your own business, traveler!" he spat. Kira, who was still protected by the magical barrier, was too stunned to say anything.

"The oppression of the weak is not something I highly approve of," she said. "Should you wish to settle something, settle it peacefully, and, not to mention, fairly."

Upon hearing her words, the tall person immediately flew into a rage. "What gives you the right to judge me? Mind your mouth, woman, or you shall have a piece of my mind!"

"It seems that you not only enjoy oppressing the weak, but you also take pleasure in threatening us females as well," she replied. "Perhaps it is time I teach you a lesson." Raising her right hand high, she prepared herself for the other figure's answer.

"I've had enough of you, you troublemaker!" he shouted hotly, before leaping towards the horned figure. Without even flinching, she pointed her right index finger at him, and lazily said "Napalm Beat."

There was a sharp crack, and the tall figure found his world spinning upside down. He lost his balance, and crashed into a puddle nearby. The third figure looked at him with interest – this was great amusement.

Picking himself up, the tall figure steadied himself, burning even hotter than before. "Fine!" he roared. "Two can play that way!" He silently chanted a spell under his breath, as his fingers traced mysterious symbols in the air. He looked up at her, and bellowed, "DECREASE AGILITY!"

The third figure found her muscles abruptly slowing down, as she felt a sudden sense of weariness. She knew this skill. It was a skill acolytes usually mastered, and used correctly it became a great debuffing weapon. Taking advantage of her momentarily weakness, the second figure charged at her, fist raised high, ready to strike.

Knowing that it was impossible to cast a spell fast under the effects of the Decrease Agility spell, the figure opted for a fast and simple way, a method that did not involve complex spells or rune drawings. She closed her eyes, and pictured the attacker in her mind. She then imagined a powerful force knocking him backwards, far away from her.

Suddenly, the second figure stopped, as if held back by an invisible force. The horned figure looked at him, and only then did he realize what had happened. She had held him back with her telepathic skills, disabling his movements via mind magic. And he knew that this was only the start. There would be a second, more destructive wave….

Summoning all the energy she could, the figure pictured in her mind a great ball of light flying towards the foe, before splitting into five smaller spheres and raining upon him. Very slowly, a shining orb began to materialize before her, as she threw it at her assaulter with a cry of "Soul Strike!"

Just like she had imagined, the sphere broke into five smaller shards, and made their way towards the attacker. He looked helplessly as the rays of light bombarded him on his five weakest spots – his eyes, his throat, both his wrists, and on his groin. The impact was just too much for him to bear, and he toppled over in pain, crashing on the hard, stony pavement.

Satisfied, she turned towards Kira, who had been motionless ever since the battle had begun. "Its okay now…" she said. "You're free to go." Kira looked at her, before taking a long bow. He then thanked her, and made his way out of the golden gates, along with the rain.

The horned figure turned to leave, when she suddenly heard faint moaning. "Not… so… fast…" it said. She turned to face him, totally shocked. Nobody had taken a full impact of her soul strike and recovered so fast before!

The figure slowly got up to his knees, and looked at her. Suddenly, he noticed that Kira was gone. Swearing loudly, he dashed out of the golden gates, hoping that he might catch Kira in time. All that greeted him was the howling of the wind, and the massive downpour. "No…" he said as he fell to his knees. "This can't be…." He punched the ground in anger, not knowing what to do.

Very slowly, his mind began to clear, and he turned towards the horned figure, who was looking at him, very much puzzled. "You let him escape!" he spat out, blood boiling with rage. "Its all your fault, you meddling mage! Now the church will be forced to pay the price!"

Curious, the figure asked, "What do you mean, escape? Weren't you trying to rob him of something important? And what does this have to do with the church?" The second figure threw his hands up into the air and let out a cold laugh. "Rob him? That useless thief was the one who robbed us! He was sent by an unknown party to spy on us, the Pronteran Church!"

Too shocked to say anything, she remained silent, as he continued. "Today, he stole valuable data on the High Priests, Priests, and serving acolytes stationed here in Prontera, as well as Pronteran personals serving in other nations. After stealing the data, he had hoped to make a clean getaway under the cover of the rain. Unfortunately for him, I happened to see him leave."

"Since teleportation cannot be performed within city walls, the nearest place he could teleport was outside the city gates. I waited in ambush, until I finally spotted him. But before I could retrieve the data, you happened to come along."

"If you hadn't butted in, I would have caught him by now! Thanks to you, important information has fallen into the enemies' hands, and who knows what they're gonna do with it!" he lamented as he frustratedly threw his cloak aside. Under the cloak was a young acolyte, about the age of 19. He had jet black hair that obscured part of his face, both long and unkept. His eyes were as cold as stone. Usually black in colour, they now burned red with rage.

Not knowing what else to do, the horned figure removed her hood, revealing the face of a young 18 year old. She too had dark black hair, but her eyes were a piercing brown. Although they were of similar age, they were far different in stature. He towered above her, like a great giant, making her seem even more prtite-sized than before.

"I'm really sorry…" she said. "I really hope there's some way I can make this up for you…" The acolyte said nothing but merely growled. Seeing this, she quickly said, "What I mean is that I can… err… explain to your superior if you wish me to…" The acolyte shot her a mean stare, and she fell quiet instantly. She lowered her head, not quite knowing what to say.

Seeing her with her head bent down in apology softened his heart, as he said, "Tell me your name." The girl was shocked at the questioned, as she blurted out "Chidori. Yukino Chidori."

The acolyte said nothing, but merely nodded. Chidori looked at him and cautiously questioned. "Err… And yours?" Upon hearing her question, he looked at her. After staring at her for quite some time, he finally said, "Sousuke. Tsukiyo Sousuke. And as you can see, I am an acolyte of the Pronteran Church."

Chidori nodded in return as Tsukyo continued, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to return to the church." Chidori looked at him in surprise. "But what about Kira?" she asked. Tsukiyo looked back at her and said, "Don't worry. We have our own network. Just forget any of this happened, okay?"

Chidori looked into his eyes, which had softened, very much different from before. She forced herself to smile and say, "Thank you…"

Tsukiyo turned to leave, heading back to the church. Chidori watched his back fade into the distance, as she too got on her way, towards the royal castle. She needed to see the king at all costs. It was an important matter, one that involved the entire nation, if not the entire world. She brought great news, news about the prophesized end of the world; the twilight of the gods.

Ragnarok.

End of Chapter Four


	5. The Church's Decision! Tsukiyo's Fate

**Chapter Five: The Church's Decision! Tsukiyo's fate.**

"Nice to meet you, Sky,"

A large knight offered his iron-clad arm to Sky, smiling. "I'm Axis, Leader of the 6th Division Knights of Prontera, and I've been sent here to meet you."

Sky stood there, not knowing what to do. He had traveled far, far from the legendary assassin guild, to pass a message to the king of Prontera, King Tristram III. His hand gripped a large, brown envelope hidden in his robes, which was entrusted to him by his Guild Master. Because of his guild's influence, Sky was hoping to see the King himself, or his chief advisor. The very least was the Lord Knight of Prontera, Sir Malcolm Shark.

But a Division Leader? Did they not know the urgency of his message? The Assassin Guild rarely made contact with the outside forces, save Morroc, which was their largest ally. Surely it was a serious matter, so severe that it concerned other outside forces, that the Assassin Guild wanted to convey! From what he had gathered, assassins had been sent all the way across the mountains to Geffen, and across the sea to Alberta. Even the remote kingdom of Payon was contacted.

"I need to see the King right away," Sky said, this time trying to make his point clearer. "IN PERSON," he added, hoping to get the message across. Axis laughed and retraced his hand. "The King has ordered me to listen to what you have to say," he said shortly. "I will later deliver any relevant documents and pass on all knowledge I have obtained from our 'talk' to him."

Sky shook his head. He was making no progress at all.

Outside the castle, Chidori was facing a similar problem.

* * *

"Let me pass," she said to the guards. "There is important news I have to deliver." Two armored knights, who stood guard over the large castle gates, laughed. "No one gets in without permission from the King himself." One of them said. "I thought everyone knew that."

"It's URGENT, for crying out loud!" Chidori said, as she desperately tried to push through the guards. The guards, however, didn't bulge an inch. Still laughing, they gave her a shove, until she lost her balance and fell down hard upon her back. Upon seeing this, the two knights laughed even harder.

Anger was surging through Chidori's veins now. "These guards are all muscle and no brain," she thought. "Fine! If it takes force to get me in, so be it!"

Chidori slowly got up to her feet, silently chanting under her breath. "Go back, woman," The second guard said. "Or we'll be forced to make you leave." Chidori did not respond to his threat. Instead, she merely lifted her head and stared at him straight in the eye.

Her eyes were burning a bright red, a sign of pure terror, as they bored straight into the guard. Upon eye contact, he found his eyes narrowing in fear, as vile abominations shot out from her eyes and drilled right into him. He felt them hammering down upon his brain, each hit bearing the force of a jackhammer. His body turned stiff and rigid, as he opened his mouth to scream. He then found his neck muscles tightening around his esophagus, preventing him from uttering a sound, as his jaws locked tight in position - a cold, silent scream.

The other guard knew what had happened and instantly closed his eyes. This was the illusionary magician skill, the Stone Curse, a spell which attacked the body's neuron system, paralyzing the enemy from within. The spell would severely mess up the entire system, in fact so much that the body would counter it by reducing all muscle movement to zero – hence locking the target in place, and therefore earning its name, the stone curse.

"Stop!" he said, eyes closed tightly in fear. "Attacking a royal knight is a serious offence! You can be executed for this!" Chidori shook her head and said, with a taunting tone, "But whose going to arrest me?" The guard dared not open his eyes, for fear of being cursed also. He did the only thing he could do – call for backup. He reached for his belt, and pulled out a giant horn, before bringing it to his lips and blew it.

To his surprise, no sound came out. Throwing all caution to the wind, he opened his eyes and looked at the horn. Only then did he realize what had happen, and a split second later, realized that it was about to happen to him. He closed his eyes once again as a jet of cold air blew over him, freezing him to the spot. In his hands he still tightly clutched the horn, which was completely frozen at the tip.

Satisfied, Chidori prepared to enter the castle. No sooner than she had crossed the drawbridge, a huge gust of wind blew out from the castle, throwing the doors wide open, and hurling Chidori through the air, until she landed far away from the doors, at the foot of the drawbridge.

"My, my…" A voice suddenly said. "It seems that the Knight's standards are slipping…" Chidori looked up, and saw that a person stood by the door. He had long, flowing grey hair, and he wore a long, gold robe, which was so long that its sleeves touched the ground. His eyes were a pair of twinkling emeralds – green in colour and heavily resembling a cats'. He slowly crossed the drawbridge and said, "There is an old saying, that whoever chooses to master the sword enslaves himself to magic. In other words, a sword wielder can never defeat a magic user in combat."

"I have always been skeptical of this saying, but it seems that I must accept it today, as some unknown wizard has just gotten past our royal guards using nothing but simple, magician skills."

As he walked across the drawbridge, Chidori's heart raced. She knew who he was. This person was a close friend of her fathers'. She had only seen him a few times before, but those sparkling, green eyes, and that long silver hair left a mark in her that would never fade away.

The chief sage of Prontera, and also, the previous master of the Galewing clan, Zephyr Galewing.

* * *

Not far away from the castle, in the halls of the Prontera Church, another heated argument was on. Before a table stood a tall, sturdy acolyte, about the age of nineteen. Seated behind the table, were four elderly men, each wearing a pure white robe, and also bearing a rosary around their necks. One of them wore a large, gemmed crown upon his head. It was the symbol of the Pronteran Church, an artifact that only the high priest of the church may wear, the national treasure - the archbishop's crown.

"What are you saying?" Tsukiyo roared as he pummeled his fists upon the table. Large, green veins were pulsating upon his forehead, and his temple was throbbing dangerously.

"I repeat myself, Tsukiyo," the high priest said. "You have been suspended from duty until further notice, for failure to capture and prevent the escape of the acolyte known as Kira."

"Who are you joking?" Tsukiyo bellowed. "Nobody gave me an order to stop him! It was done all by my own free will! Its not like I've failed any of your missions or something!"

"On the contrary, Tsukiyo," another priest said, "It is you duty to protect the secrets of the church. Did you not swear an oath on the day you became an acolyte? To forever protect the church's greatest secrets?"

"What the hell does that have to do with my suspension!"

"You have failed, Tsukiyo, to prevent the escape of Kira. Thanks to you, we have not only lost the info on all our personnel, but other more important information as well."

Tsukiyo paused abruptly, before continuing, "Other information? What else did that bastard steal?"

The priests shuffled uneasily in their chairs. Even the high priest looked troubled. With his finger, he motioned for Tsukiyo to come forward.

"Tell me, Tsukiyo," he said. "Have you ever heard of Ragnarok?"

Tsukiyo thought for a while, before replying, "The twilight of the Gods, end of the World. The return of the Dark Lord, where he would cover the world in darkness."

"Precisely," the high priest said. "And that is exactly what Kira stole."

"A thousand years ago," the high priest continued, "The Dark Lord commanded an army of elite monsters to do combat against the Gods. Not only so, he also ordered a small portion of his hand-picked elites to destroy us humans, so that he may create his own world of absolute darkness."

"The data Kira stole was on the Great War, the epic battle between us humans and the strongest monsters to ever exist."

"The Most Valued Personals, the MVPs."

Tsukiyo was shocked at the statement. Never before had he heard of this so-called Great War. Sensing his confusion, the high priest continued, "The Great War was a greatly kept secret, a secret that only a few have account of. We, the church, are one of the selected few who had actual accounts of the war, accounts that, unfortunately, have been stolen."

"We do not know what Kira plans to do with this data, but should he release it out to the public, it would cause a massive state of chaos, and the validity of the church would be questioned."

Tsukiyo suddenly laughed out loud. He raised his hand to his head, and covered his face with his palm. "I get it…." He said, still covering his head with his palms. "You're using me as an excuse for your miserable failures. You're pinning down your failures to protect the documents on me, aren't you?"

"My dear friends, you're using me as a scapegoat."

Upon hearing this, the priests shifted uncomfortably in their chairs again, as the high priest cleared his throat. "We do not explicitly say so, Tsukiyo…" he said, as he gazed right at him. "But you get the idea." He said, with a dark, menacing tone.

"I have said twice," the high priest said. "You are hereby suspended from duty, until further notice. Leave at once, less me make you leave by force."

Tsukiyo shot one last glance at them, as he turned his back and left the room. As soon as he had slammed the door behind him, he threw his fist as the nearest wall, making a loud thud echo across the long, empty chambers. He watched in amazement, as powder crumbled from the wall, followed by a steady stream of blood, which was flowing down from his now broken knuckles.

END OF CHAPTER 5


	6. Chaos! Zephyr Galewing

Chapter 6: Chaos! Zephyr Galewing!

"So… We meet again… Chidori…"

Chidori's heart raced as the figure crossed the drawbridge and stood face to face before her. She knew this person well. Although she had only seen him twice, his haunting green eyes had continued to plague her even after years they had parted. The first time she saw him was when she was merely the age of eight. He had come to see her father over some important matter, and that was the first time she had gazed into those deep, emerald green eyes.

The second time, however, had left a wound in her that would never heal. She remembered seeing him in the midst of it the incident, the incident that was not supposed to happen. She remembered seeing him lying in a pool of his own blood; she remembered him calling to her, begging her to take something from him and run; she remembered him muttering a mysterious incantation, which made her feel weak and dizzy; and finally, she remembered him falling down dead, eyelids wide open, those green eyes still as haunting as ever.

Chidori stood there, not knowing what to do. She had already come this far, she didn't want to give up now, even though the enemy before her was an enemy far more experienced than her. Her body told her to run, but her mind commanded her to stay .Torn between the two, she did neither.

"What's the matter…? Chidori…" The sage called out again softly. "I trust you still remember me?"

Chidori dismissed his question with a laugh. "Of course…" she replied, voice still a little shaky from shock. "How could I ever forget you… "

"ZEPHYR GALEWING!"

Zephyr smiled, as he said, "I'm touched that you still remember my name…. I was so afraid that you would have forgotten me…"

"Get out of the way, Zephyr." Chidori said coldly, her senses slowly returning. Her initial shock of seeing him alive had passed, as she now found herself capable of thinking clearly once more.

"My, my… How pushy…" Zephyr mocked. "You must have inherited that from your father, yes… He was an extremely impatient man too." Zephyr said, his lips curling upwards to a smile.

Chidori found her coolness slowly vanishing, as her anger began taking over. She forced herself to compress the building rage within her, as she said to Zephyr, albeit this time through clenched teeth, "Get out of the way."

Zephyr shook his head and said, "And what makes you think I would? After all, I am the Chief Advisor of the King of Prontera. It wouldn't look good if I were to merely step away, no?"

"I'm warning you, Zephyr…" Chidori said, her anger steadily rising. "Shall you not move voluntarily, do not blame me for removing you by force."

"No one gets in without permission from the king, or his chief advisor…" Zephyr said, as he added, with an evil gleam in his eye, "which would be me…"

"The so be it!" Chidori screamed. She had enough of this nonsense. Her anger clouding her mind and vanquishing her fear, she conjured a blast of icy wind and threw it at him with a shout of "Frost Diver!" The Frost Diver enveloped Zephyr and closed in at him from all directions. Chidori smiled. She knew that he would soon be frozen solid, just like one of the guards was.

Zephyr didn't even flinch at the attack. All he did was merely extract a small wand from his robe. As the frost diver approached him, he flicked his wand and said softly, "Magic Rod."

Instantly the jet of freezing wind disappeared, as Zephyr turned it into raw mana and absorbed it with his wand. Chidori watched in disbelief as her attack vanished completely. The magic rod was an extremely powerful skill, one that required years of training before it could be perfected. Upon activation, all incoming magic targeted at the caster would be converted into raw mana to be absorbed.

The magic rod skill, however, required vast knowledge of the elementals, something that normal magicians lacked. Those who studied the elements intensively were the sages of Juno, those who forsaken power in their quest for wisdom. The Zephyr she had known was a wizard, not a sage who was adept at controlling the elements. If that was the case, how had he managed to perform the magic rod?

Chidori shook her head and dismissed those thoughts. She would deal with them later. She had more pressing matters to deal with right now. If single target spells couldn't work against him, all she needed was a large area spell, one that would serve to hold him tightly in place…

Raising her fist high into the air, Chidori began chanting the verses to the powerful Earth element spell, the Quagmire. Since it was an area afflicting spell, the magic rod would be useless against it. And since what she needed was a spell to disable the enemy's movements, the Quagmire was a perfect choice.

Chidori finished the final few verses of the spell, as the proceeded to shout aloud the final remaining incantations. "Quag…"

"SPELL BREAKER!"

Without warning, Chidori suddenly found her world turned upside down, as her head landed on the stony floor, and her legs ended p in midair. Chidori gasped, shocked at what at happened. In that brief moment she stopped her spell chant, her entire incantation was interrupted, as her Quagmire vanished, being disturbed before completion. Her world then reverted back to normal, as she saw Zephyr standing there lazily, his wand pointed straight at her.

Chidori knew this spell. This was yet another high leveled spell, one that forcefully disrupted the enemy's casting of the spell. By delivering a powerful neuron shock directly to the opponent's brain, one could disrupt the flow of impulse and stop the completion of a spell. This was the powerful spell, the Spell Breaker.

Mastering the spell breaker, though, was no easy task. Due to the nature of incantations, one's mind would be usually closed from external intrusion during spell casting – hence explaining why some spell casters would turn momentarily deaf during the casting of a spell. Some spells were so powerful that they even temporarily removed the sight from the caster while being cast. Eventually, many wizards got used to casting spells in the dark that they found it hard to concentrate while NOT casting in the dark, therefore the blinker was invented – so that those who preferred casting in the dark could concentrate.

Each spell, however, shares a common weakness. During the course of the spell, there is always a brief transition where the incantations are brought to life, are given material. It is during this transaction period that the mind opens itself up, and it is also during this time that spell breakers can hack into the minds of these spell casters to forcefully cut their spell short. Despite this weakness, each spell has a different transaction period, and depending on the spell, that period may be anywhere from the beginning of the spell to the end of it. In order to fully utilize the power of the spell breaker, one had to do extensive research on EVERY spell created, before further analyzing them to find their true weakness. Such hard work was unfavoured by wizards, but mighty popular among the sages, whose knowledge of spells and spell castings made breaking spells a breeze.

Chidori's mind raced. Magic rod was bad enough, spell breaker was the icing on the cake. Possessing both skills made Zephyr completely immune to ALL of her spells, as spells were generally categorized as single target magic and area based.

There was, however, a third type of spell, one that was completely above the other two. The nature of these spells made them so powerful that they could not be learned, only passed down, usually from generation to generation. The legendary Forbidden Spells, which only ran through a specific clan and their offspring.

Chidori was at her wits end. She had no choice to but execute a forbidden spell, one that was so powerful that it would probably destroy the entire drawbridge in its wake. This was the only option she had, since Zephyr clearly resisted the effects of both single and area spells. Slowly, she chanted a short poem, one that triggered the powerful forbidden spell.

"Stairway to Valhalla, show your light"

"Let this unworthy soul take flight!"

"Reveal your passage to the clear blue sky"

"Strike down now, the wrath of the Valkyrie!"

"LORD OF VERMILLION!"

At her command, a huge, crimson bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, followed by three similar spears of scarlet red. This was the powerful Forbidden Spell, the Wrath of the Valkyrie, one that would summon four heavenly javelins of light to smite the foe. Upon crashing down upon the ground, the bolts of light would then reflect back up to the sky, causing massive explosions in its wake. This spell was often accompanied by the darkening of the sky, as well as huge, earth shattering explosions where it rebounded of the surface of the Earth back to the halls of Valhalla, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Chidori watched as the four spears of light she had summoned coursed down towards Zephyr, who stood there, open to attack.

Without warning, another four bolts of lighting sheared down from the sky, this time moving in the opposite direction of Chidori's Lord of Vermillion. Chidori watched in awe as the two attacks collided in midair. Large, crimson red sparks flew everything, striking all tall objects within their reach. The sky was dyed a deep red as the two bolts of fearsome intensity clawed at each other, each attempting to break the other.

There was a sharp snap, as Chidori's Lord of Vermillion snapped into two. Massive thunderbolts rained down upon the ground, as the remaining bolts collided with the initial bolt and bounced off, causing massive explosions to flare up in the sky. The other Lord of Vermillion, although it proved to be superior to Chidoris', was also thrown off course, as it hit the ground outside of Prontera, causing a massive shockwave to vibrate throughout the field. This was followed by another three explosions, as the remaining three bolts crashed into the ground, splitting it apart. A huge fissure emerged, as a result of the Lord of Vermillion impaling it with full force.

Chidori looked at Zephyr, who had undoubtedly cast that Lord of Vermillion. "You seem to have forgotten who taught you that skill, Chidori…" Zephyr said menacingly. "Eight years ago, I begged you to do me a favour, and that was to protect this skill, so that it would continue to exist in this world. With my remaining power, I transferred all knowledge of the Lord of Vermillion into you, which explains why you can execute such a powerful skill."

"The Galewing clan specialty, the wrath of the Valkyrie, the Lord of Vermillion."

Zephyr raised his staff, and said, "Now, after three unsuccessful tries at eliminating me, I think my turn, no?" Without waiting for an answer, Zephyr began chanting his spell.

Suddenly, another earthquake rocked the area, as Zephyr and Chidori were thrown off balance. From outside the city walls, there was a shrill cry, followed by the sound of hundreds and thousands of insects squealing. Then there was a loud roar, a roar that symbolized a challenge, a duel.

It was a battle cry.

Chidori's face turned pale at the sound. "No…" she said. "It can't be…" Zephyr, too, was equally worried. "I'll postpone our duel for the time being," he said, as he turned to leave. "I need to inform the King about this right now!"

Chidori wasn't even listening. She knew that only a monster could make that cry. And not just any monster. It was a monster filled with anger, filled with fury, filled with hatred towards the humans. A monster that despised the very existence of humans, and wanted nothing more than the utmost annihilation of the human race.

A Most Valued Personnel, an MVP.


	7. MVP appears! Defend the City Gates!

**Chapter 7: MVP appears! Defend the city gates!**

Sky immediately ran towards the nearest exit, fearing the worst. His guild master had warned him about a so-called end of the world, one where even the gods would fall. He knew that what he meant was Ragnarok, the evening of the gods, caused by the rise of the Dark Lord and his 20 or so servants, the Most Valued Personals, the MVPs.

Just a few seconds ago, he heard a cry that made his blood turn cold. It was a battle cry, issued not only towards Prontera, but to the entire human race. It was a challenge of authority, of superiority. Only the worthy deserved to survive! The weak must perish to make way for the strong!

Axis saw Sky turn and head for the exit. "Hey wait up!" He called loudly. Sky paid no attention to him. He had more pressing things to accomplish. He needed to see, with his very own eyes, what his guild master feared so much, what was so alarming, so terrifying that it concerned the vast forces of Prontera. Axis continued to pursue him from behind. "Come on, slow down a bit!" he lamented as Sky rushed forward to the gates, which were drawn closely shut.

"Open the gates!" Sky bellowed at the guards. "I have to get out!"

One of the guards shook his head and said, "I'm afraid I can't do that! The king has just declared a state of emergency! Something big is heading our way!"

"Then that's all the more reason for opening the gates! We have to stop this thing before it reaches here and tears down these very gates!"

The guards looked uncomfortably at each other. They had been given orders to shut the gates and prevent any incoming invaders at all cost, but there was some truth in what the assassin had said. By closing the gates, they indeed shielded themselves from the incoming monstrosity, but it also sealed them within the very walls of the city. In the unlikely event that the attacker found a way to penetrate their defence, the very thing that was designed to protect them would inevitably turn against them, cutting off their path of escape.

"Open the gates," a deep voice called from behind. The guards looked up and saw a knight bearing a captain's badge standing behind the assassin. They immediately recognized him - captain of the 6th division, Lord Axis.

"But sir..." they began. "Just do as I say," Axis interrupted them before they could finish. "I will take full responsibility on what happens next."

The guards looked into their captain's eyes, and saw a shimmer of determination in them. Without further hesitation, they began pulling at the heavy chains that bound the massive golden gates shut, as the gates slowly creaked open.

"As soon as we are gone, close the gates, and open the passage for no one, save other knights who come to provide backup. Do not let any other civilians pass. Is that understood?" Axis questioned.

"Yes sir!" the guards cried in unison, as the gates finally slid open, just wide enough for the both of them to pass. "You do know that what we're facing is something far superior compared to the monsters you've ever faced before, do you?" Sky questioned as he walked out. "It is a creature from a forgotten past, one that can, and will not hesitate, to tear down the entire city of Prontera."

"It is an MVP"

"Knowing this, do you still wish to fight? For what reason do you choose to battle? Answer me truthfully, Axis!"

Axis closed his eyes and laughed. "If this creature does indeed desire to destroy the mighty gates of Prontera, then it is my sworn duty as a captain, nay, as a knight, to prevent that from happening!"

Sky looked at Axis in awe. Here was someone who he thought to be extremely weak just a minute ago. Now, it seemed as if the very same person he had seen a minute ago had undergone a sudden metamorphosis, turning into a man of great courage and valour, who now stood beside him, ready to take on the threat of the MVP. Sky braced himself, as the enemy came within his line of sight.

Nothing could have prepared him for this, though. What greeted him left him so dumbfounded, so flabbergasted that in that split second, he wished that he had remained within the comfort of Prontera's wall.

Stretching far before him was a seemingly endless tide of navy blue. At first, Sky thought it was a tidal wave, but as it grew closer, he realised what it truly was. He trembled at the very sight of it, fully understanding now, the true power of the MVPs.

It was a giant army of thief bugs, their numbers so vast that they easily exceeded tens of thousands. As they marched towards Prontera, they hoisted a single, glowing entity on their back. It was so large that it made the already tiny thief bugs look miniscule. It was coated in a sheet of golden armour, as its solid exoskeleton caught rays of sunlight and reflected them back, making it shine with a brilliant display of gold.

Sky watched in horror as the thief bugs carried their master towards Prontera. He had very limited knowledge on the MVPs, as their existence was a jealously guarded secret even within the Assassin Guild, but he nevertheless knew slightly about them, to the point that he could name and identify the twenty or so MVPs, including the one heading towards him.

It was the Golden Thief Bug, the powerful MVP that was the main tank of the Dark Lord's army. During the Great War, the Golden Thief Bug was always at the frontline of war, charging towards its enemies before trampling them under its feet. He had amazing strength, so much that one of his headbutts could easily send a knight flying. His speed was also not to be underestimated, as he was known to make violent charges at the enemy, sprinting towards them with great velocity.

The one thing that made the Golden Thief Bug so widely feared, however, wasn't its strength or speed. The MVP possessed an indestructible exoskeleton, one that was so hard and so solid that it easily reflected any incoming blows. Even the mighty sledge hammers of blacksmiths, coupled with their awesome strength, shattered upon contact with the MVP's armour. So great was its defence that many found it impossible to strike it down using brute force, and hence it was named, the Walking Fortress.

"This is bad..." Sky said. "The walking fortress alone is hard enough to handle. His thousand minions only serve to make the situation worse. At this rate, we'll be overwhelmed before we even engage the MVP..."

Axis laughed, before saying, "You worry too much, Sky. Your enemy is not the thousand of thief bugs before you, but rather, the single MVP which issued the challenge."

"Those thief bugs only serve as a wall to prevent us from fleeing. They will not interrupt our battle with their master, for it would go against the basic code of conduct."

"Although the MVPs desire nothing more than the annihilation of the human race, they nevertheless seek a fair fight, and they too give us a chance to defend ourselves. Should we fail here, the entire city of Prontera will be flooded by these insects, as they leave chaos and destruction in their wake."

"That is why we cannot afford to lose this battle. Although our enemy holds the upper hand in both power and experience, we have a greater advantage in terms of numbers. Its a two against one fight after all. We should have even odds."

Sky watched the entire army stop in their tracks, as the Golden Thief Bug slowly marched out from within their ranks to engage them. He gave another loud cry, once again issuing a challenge towards them. This cry, however, also contained slivers of mockery, taunting the pathetic humans, as if saying, "That's the best you can do?"

Smiling, Axis lifted his horn to his mouth, and blew it loudly, as an answer to his challenge. A deep horn echoed through the city of Prontera, traveling so far that even the King could hear it within his chambers. The horn continued to echo across the mountains, across the dark, cold abandoned mines, as it finally died down in the forests.

The challenge had been issued, and this was their reply. Sky went into his attack stance as Axis took out his spear, ready to engage the enemy.

* * *

"Sightrasher!" 

Chidori threw a ball of fire at the wall, which split into eight smaller orbs of similar intensity, each pummeling the wall with remarkable force. As soon as the flames died down, Chidori threw another Sightrasher at the wall, until she finally blew open a hole in it. She smiled as she then proceeded to exit Prontera. So what if the guards wouldn't open the gates for her? Creating her own exit was easy enough.

As she stepped out of the newly created exit, a horrible sight greeted her eyes. Thousands of thief bugs lined before her, forming a huge barrier, preventing her from escaping. Not far from her was an assassin, as well as a knight whom she recognized as a captain due to his slightly different outfit. He was not the Lord Knight, though, as his Peco Peco was a regular one, unlike the steel-clad battle Peco of the Lord Knight, Sir Malcolm Shark.

Right before the two was a horrible abomination, one that she had never seen before. It was as large as a tank, and covered in a sheet of pure gold. Its appearance hugely resembled that of a thief bugs', except that it sprouted huge, golden horns from the tip of his head.

This was undoubtedly the legendary Golden Thief Bug, the Walking Fortress, mighty MVP of the Dark Lord's army. What she had feared, and what she had hoped to warn the King about, had come true at last.

The MVPs were once again awakening from their years of sleep. And they were too late to stop them.

* * *

Tsukiyo dejectedly walked down the streets of Prontera, his knuckles still bleeding from his earlier actions. He now regretted that he had acted so rashly, as it would take time for his injuries to heal on its own. Although he was an acolyte, his skills in healing weren't as powerful as a priests', therefore requiring physical contact of BOTH his palms in order to close a wound. Due to this, he couldn't heal his own fist, and since no priest (or acolyte for that matter) would help him, he was left with a bleeding fist as a reminder not to act so foolishly in the future. 

As he walked down the deserted corridors, he heard a shrill cry, followed by the echo of a horn. Tsukiyo froze in his tracks. The horn of a knight was only blown in cases of dire emergency, and it seemed that this was one of them. Not wanting to miss out on the action, he ran towards the gates, only to find them tightly bolted shut.

"Dang..." he thought, as slowly departed. "How I hoped to get a piece of the action."

Suddenly, he remembered something, something that the high priest had once said. Although an anti-magical barrier was placed around Prontera, it was highly unstable, and could be disabled at the chief advisor's will. That was not all, though. The barrier was created using a series of powerful magic spells interwoven together. Due to the nature of spell, a strong interference would usually cause the barrier to cease working for a short period, before it became fully functional again. Hadn't he seen a powerful bolt of lightning course across the sky not long ago, only to be destroyed by an attack of even greater intensity? What if that counter spell was actually the barrier's doing? And what if that counter spell had drained the barrier of all its power, so that it went offline for the time being?

Without further hesitation, Tsukiyo pictured the Prontera field before his eyes, as he slowly muttered the incantations for a teleportation spell. As he chanted, he found time and space being distorted around him, as his spell brought him right out of Prontera, and into the battle field outside.

Before him was a large army of thief bugs, and a giant, glowing, golden thief bug. Beside him were three figures - one who he identified as the captain of the 7th division, Lord Axis. There was another figure, which he too recognized as an assassin, and finally, the last, which made his blood boil.

It was the same person who had aided Kira's escape and inadvertently caused his suspension. It was the same witch which he had encountered only yesterday.

Yukino Chidori.

* * *

"You know..." Axis said, grinning, "I think our odds just got better." 

"Agreed," Sky said. "A wizard, or witch in this case, is always welcomed for her massive elemental powers, and an acolyte further increases our chances of surviving, and ultimately, winning this battle."

"We need a plan," Chidori said. "We can't just rush in without a strategy."

"Simple," Axis said. "Sky and I will hold the MVP down, while you cast your spells, preferably huge, destructive ones. The acolyte will heal and buff us all, so we'll have increased odds at surviving."

Chidori nodded, as Sky and Axis readied themselves. Tsukiyo cast his blessing and increase agility spell on the three of them, before proceeding to cast it upon himself. The Golden Thief Bug once again let out a huge roar, as it charged at the four of them. Not wanting to be outdone, Sky and Axis too charged at the MVP, ready to engage it in combat.

The fate of Prontera now lay in the hands of these four unlikely characters, as they temporarily put aside their differences to protect the mighty Golden Gates of Prontera, each fighting for a different purpose, but for a same goal. To destroy the MVP, and bring peace to Prontera!

The final battle for Prontera had begun at last!

END OF CHAPTER 7

* * *

Sorry, I messed up the previous upload. I forgot to add rulers, which made the story kinda akward to read. Sorry again for any inconvenience caused 

On a side note, I'm having exams this week, so I won't be free to update much. Once again thanks for all the reviews!


	8. Invincible! Golden Thief Bug!

I've finally finished my exams! Here's another chapter for your reading pleasure I'll be uploading the next chapter really soon. Thanks to all of you who bothered to read and review my story! Arigato!

Oh and one more thing, annoymous reviews are now enabled. I can't believe I've been disabling it all along. Silly me XD

Ok, enough with the misc stuff and onto the story

**

* * *

Chapter 8: Invincible! Golden Thief Bug!**

With a flash, Sky disappeared, hidden under the effect of his cloaking skill. Axis followed the initiative by charging forward at the Golden Thief Bug, lance raised high, ready to drive it down upon the MVP.

The Golden Thief Bug, however, wasn't the least bit intimidated. As Axis approached him, he lowered his head and braced himself for the assault. The moment Axis' spear connected with his outer shell, the MVP glowed a bright golden. Axis's spear bounced harmlessly off the tough exterior of the MVP, as the Golden Thief Bug retaliated by charging straight at Axis.

Sky immediately reappeared before the Golden Thief Bug. He knew that the moment the MVP lowered its guard to attack was the perfect moment to strike. Capitalizing on this, Sky delivered eight furious, super sonic strikes at the MVP, aiming at its unprotected eyes.

Golden Thief Bug immediately lowered his head, as it deflected Sky's ultra fast Sonic Blow. The second Sky's attacks had stopped, the Golden Thief Bug rammed its head right into Sky's belly, the impact throwing Sky backwards, before landing hardly upon the floor. Sky slowly got to his feet, his chest throbbing painfully after being hit by the MVP.

"Heal!"

Sky found his pain slowly disappearing, as his wound slowly closed. Behind him, Tsukiyo focused all his energy into his palms, as he channeled them via an invisible string towards Sky. With an invisible hand, Tsukiyo slowly stitched up Sky's wounds, while at the same time coursing a steady course of mana into his body to recover any broken bones. Sky felt in wonder as his health returned to him, and soon he was well enough to get on his two feet.

"Thanks a lot, Tsukiyo," Sky said, fully replenished and ready for battle. Once again he went into cloaking mode, as he readied himself for another battle.

Axis, on the other hand, decided to fight fire with fire. Disposing his lance, Axis grabbed the Golden Thief Bug by its horns, as he tightly held the MVP in place. "Strength and Valor are a warrior's right and left hands!" he roared. Straining all his muscles, Axis locked the MVP tightly in place, as he bellowed, "Chidori, NOW!"

Chidori had been waiting patiently all this while, patiently awaiting the perfect moment. Releasing all the energy in a furious bolt of lightning, Chidori cried, "JUPITEL THUNDER!"

A bolt of shimmering blue energy burst out furiously from Chidori's fingertips, coursing towards the Golden Thief Bug. The second the spell hit the MVP, Axis immediately let go, for fear of being electrocuted. The Golden Thief Bug let out an unearthly cry, as Chidori discharged pockets of lightning within his body, bypassing his tough exoskeleton. Chidori continued to release wave after wave of electricity, as the exploded violently upon contact. After thirteen electrifying waves, Chidori finally ended the spell. She clutched her knees and began panting heavily, the spell finally taking its toll on her frail body.

Without warning, the Golden Thief Bug made a sudden charge at Chidori, who was totally unprepared for it. She watched in horror as the MVP, still smoking from her previous attack, dashed towards her, eyes full of anger and fury. Too shocked to do anything, she stood there, unmoving, as if rooted to the spot.

A sudden shadow intercepted the attack, as the Golden Thief Bug drove its ugly head into it. There was a sick crunching sound, like that of bones breaking, followed by a frightened gasp, and later by a muffled cough. Then, for the longest moment, there was an unearthly silence.

Chidori watched as the body of Tsukiyo Sousuke fell to the floor, having saved her from the sudden attack of the MVP.

* * *

Not far from the battlefield, a single entity casually surveyed the battle below him. He was dressed in a plain, traveling cloak, which was a deep red in colour. He wore a matchingly red hood over his head, which covered his face in darkness, shielding it from the view of others. Near his left waist was a single sheathed sword, slung by his side like a samurai carrying his katana. 

His lips curled as Chidori shot a bolt of navy blue lightning at the MVP, before bending down in exhaustion. "Not bad…" he slowly said to himself. "Just like what I expected… It seems that your skills are still as sharp as they were, eight years ago…"

"To think that it's been eight years... Yukino Chidori…"

* * *

Far below, Chidori gazed at the body of Tsukiyo Sousuke, drenched in blood. Her mind raced, as images flashed in her mind. A woman was yelling for help, as a man told her to run. A woman was clutching the hands of two young girls, frantically running. A giant, dark shadow was looming above, as she felt a chill run through her entire body...

"NO!" Chidori cried as she fell down on her knees, clutching her head in pain. Why had these memories resurfaced, after so many years? Memories she had worked hard on sealing away, via extremely high leveled mind wiping magic. Memories she wished to forever expel. Memories she wished to forever forget. Memories of her dark past…

"Chidori!" Axis yelled as he worked hard on restraining the MVP. "Take Tsukiyo to safety, before he gets trampled by the Golden Thief Bug!" Upon hearing this, Chidori immediately snapped out of her hallucinations, and she dragged Tsukiyo's body away from the site of battle, leaving a bloody trail behind. She forced herself to look away, trying her best to ignore the sickening trail of blood he had left behind.

Axis made a sudden leap onto the Golden Thief Bug's back, and, with great force, pulled hard at the MVP's horns, trying to expose its neck. Sky was waiting in ambush. He knew what Axis was thinking. Once Axis had managed to pull its head upwards, he would move forward to slit its throat, and end the MVP's life once and for all.

The Golden Thief Bug, however, was far too strong. With incredible force, it forcefully threw Axis off its back, and proceeded to crush him under its feet. Sensing danger, Axis immediately rolled aside, as the MVP's feet narrowly missed him. Sky took this opportunity to sneak below the creature, and impale its weak belly with a cry of "GRIM TOOTH!"

Blood gushed out of the wounded creature's body, as Sky immediately retreated to safety. He glanced at his katars, which were stained bright red with blood, and knew that he was correct all along. The Golden Thief Bug did posses an invincible exterior, but his underside was unprotected and very much open to attack. He grinned as he readied himself, this time planning to tear open its insides and let it bleed to death.

Suddenly, a green light enveloped the MVP, as it slowly recovered from its injuries. Sky watched in horror as the MVP's wounds slowly closed, and the flow of blood steadily lessened. A minute later, the Golden Thief Bug was completely recovered, having healed itself via healing magic, as it once again let out a furious battle cry.

It was over. Whatever damage they did, the MVP would easily heal. Its healing powers far exceeded their damage output. They had no chance of winning. None at all.

* * *

Far away, the king of Prontera observed the duel via his crystal orb atop his royal scepter. He shook his head, and knew that they hadn't the slightest chance of victory. 

That was, if he did not do anything.

"Zephyr," he commanded. Zephyr immediately bowed before him, and said, "Yes, my Lord?"

"I want you to head outside and help them," the king said shortly. "At this rate, they'll be overwhelmed completely."

"My Liege," Zephyr said swiftly, "Should you fear for the safety of the citizens of Prontera, I humbly beg you to not worry. Should the MVP barge into the city, I will personally deal with it. For the time being, there is no danger..."

"Zephyr," the king interrupted with an icy tone. "Who said anything about the safety of Prontera?"

Zephyr looked up at the king, very much puzzled. "My Lord, kindly forgive my stupidity, but I do not understand…"

"Zephyr," the king cut him short. "I trust you know why the Golden Thief Bug is regarded as the Walking Fortress?"

"Because of its indestructible exoskeleton?" Zephyr answered, getting even more confused at the king's question.

"Precisely," the king replied. "And, if word got out that the Pronteran forces are sitting idly while the Walking Fortress is threatening the nation's security … Well, I guess many other nations would use this as an excuse to interfere, no?"

Zephyr, who was still lost, said once again. "I am truly sorry, my Lord, but I really do not see the connection…"

"Zephyr…" the King said, a tone of impatience growing in his voice. "If we do not destroy that thing soon, other nations will do so."

"And if they are to do so," he continued, "they will undoubtedly take the golden armor of the Walking Fortress and conduct experiments on it. What if they manage to find a way to duplicate it? What if they manage to create indestructible plate armor, capable of withstanding even the most powerful of blows?"

"With such power, how can you be sure they won't try to take over the entire kingdom of Midgard?"

Zephyr immediately realised what the king was trying to say. He quickly lowered his head and said, "I beg you to forgive my foolishness, your highness. I will go immediately." With a gust of wind, he was gone. The king of Prontera sighed and once again gazed into his crystal orb, surveying the battle between the humans and the Golden Thief Bug. This time, however, another player had joined their ranks.

The greatest sage to ever exist. The powerful sage that could even wield the Lord of Vermillion due to his advanced bloodline.

Zephyr Galewing.

* * *

Zephyr materialized outside the gates of Prontera, having teleported from the castle. He knew that his strength alone wasn't enough to win this battle, as his sage skills weren't enough to destroy an MVP like the Golden Thief Bug. In order to win, he needed a destructive spell. And in order to obtain a more destructive spell, he needed… 

"Chidori…" he slowly whispered, as turned his head, as if searching for her. He found her kneeled over the body of her dead comrade, and he slowly smiled to himself. He headed to where Chidori was, and quietly withdrew his wand. All he needed was a few minutes, and he would be able to obtain one of the most powerful spells in history.

The Yukino bloodline, the Storm Gust.

END OF CHAPTER EIGHT

* * *

Chapter Nine will be up in a few hours, as a special double chapter /gg. Once again annoymous reviews are now accepted, silly me for not noticing it being disabled for such a long time /heh 


	9. Incarnation of the Snow! Yukino Chidori!

Alright, here's the double chapter /gg. This chapter marks the end of the Prontera Arc, which I must admit has been kinda boring. The next arc will be the Geffen Arc, starting from Chapter 9. Enjoy the last chapter of this Arc!

P/S: Anonymous reviews are enabled. Please review! Thanks!

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Incarnation of the Snow! Yukino Chidori!**

Zephyr slowly made his way to where Chidori lay, grieving over the death of her comrade Tsukiyo Sousuke. It was she who had caused his death. If only she hadn't been so reckless, this wouldn't have happened...

"You're tired, aren't you," Zephyr said as he approached her. "This is the second time you've killed someone, isn't it... Chidori..."

Chidori grabbed her head in pain. "No..." she said, "Make it stop... Make it go away..."

Zephyr smiled widely, as he continued. "I can make it go away... The responsibilities you're shouldering... I can lessen them..."

"All you need to do is transfer your powers to me... It will only take a minute or so..."

"And all your pain will be gone... Chidori... All you need to do is say yes, and open your mind to me..."

Chidori considered his proposal, and then, very slowly, she nodded her head. Zephyr's grin grew wider, as he began chanting mysterious words of a long lost tongue. As he chanted, a shadowy hand materialized from the tip of his wand, and began to reach for victory. Even amidst his chant, Zephyr couldn't hold back his ever-growing smile.

Victory was his at last!

* * *

A dark silhouette dashed across the field at neck-breaking speed, making its way towards Zephyr. With a sudden movement, it unsheathed its sword, creating a large sword vacuum which traveled through the air towards Zephyr. "Vacuum Void!" he shouted as the slash sped through the air. Zephyr immediately leapt aside, as the attack broke his spell and broke his connection with Chidori,

"Stand back, old fool," the figure said harshly as he drew out his sword. He was clad entirely in a crimson red cloak, and had a hood over his head, masking his true identity. "I will not let you take her heritage." He said icily.

Zephyr was boiling at that statement. "And you suppose a mere swordsman like you can stop me?" he said hotly as he raised his hand. Ten arrows of fire rained down from the sky, threatening to burn the mysterious swordsman to a crisp.

The swordsman, however, didn't even flinch. "Hieru, Silverfang," ED: "Freeze" in Japanese he said as he unsheathed his sword. As he pulled his sword out of its scabbard, there was a fierce gust of wind, and Zephyr was forced to shut his eyes. As the wind subsided, he slowly opened his eyes. What greeted them, however, was something far greater than he had expected.

Before him, the swordsman was wielding an icy blue saber, which was slightly curved, like a crescent moon. Its hilt was a matching cerulean, decorated at the tip with a menacing, sharp fang.

"The ice falchion, Silverfang," he said as he headed towards Zephyr. "Now just shut up for a moment." With a single wave, he threw an icy cold blast of wind at Zephyr, which froze him completely on the spot.

Satisfied, he now turned to Chidori, who was too overwhelmed to do anything. "Tell me," he said. "Why did you attempt to give your powers to Zephyr?"

Chidori looked at him, before replying shakily. "I've had enough…" she said, trying her best to hold back her tears. "Too many people have suffered, have died… Because of me…" As she said this, a single budding tear fell to the ground, onto Tsukiyo's face.

The swordsman walked over to Tsukiyo, and observed his wound. Reaching into his pocket, he brought out a single, golden berry and, with a swift blow, crushed it into powder. He skillfully applied the powder on Tsukiyo's wound, and, before Chidori's amazed eyes, his wound began to close.

"He's still alive," the swordsman said curtly. "Thank goodness!" Chidori exclaimed as she shed tears of joy. "Thank goodness…" she said as she buried her head in her hands.

"I was so afraid of taking another's life…" Chidori said amidst her sobs. "So afraid of seeing another die, because of me…"

At her words, the swordsman softened. "But that's no reason why you should give up your powers, Chidori…" he said softly. "Powers that were passed down to you by your father, the great Yukino Yuuichi…"

Chidori looked up at him, surprised that he knew her father's name. "But how did you…" she began. The swordsman silenced her by placing a single finger on her lips. "Hush…" he said, "I have my ways…" Not knowing what else to say, Chidori turned her eyes away, only to find herself gazing at the ongoing battle between Sky, Axis and the Golden Thief Bug.

"You're not going to watch them die without helping, are you?" the swordsman said as he too surveyed the battle. "They are, after all, your comrades, no?"

Upon hearing his words, Chidori nodded, as she slowly got to her feet. "I have to fight," she said. "For their sake…" she added in a softer tone.

The swordsman turned to look at Chidori, and said, "You do know that ordinary spells won't hurt him much, right?" Chidori once again nodded, as she said, "But I have to try… Even though it's useless…"

"I have to fight for their sake."

The swordsman looked at Chidori again, full of wonder at her determination. "How much you've grown, Chidori…" he said. "In a short span of eight years, you've matured so much…" he continued, more to himself. Chidori looked at him, puzzled at his statement. "Who are you? And how do you know me?" she questioned. The swordsman laughed, as replied, "My name is of no importance. If fate wills it to happen, you will know it in the future."

"Right now, we have other pressing matters to worry about." He said, as if changing the topic. "There is only one way to destroy this monstrosity," he continued. "And that is via the Forbidden Spells."

"Forbidden Spells…" Chidori muttered, as if to herself. She had only one Forbidden Spell, and that was the Lord of Vermillion she had unknowingly gotten from Zephyr Galewing. Did he mean the Lord of Vermillion?

"No," the swordsman said, as if he had read her mind. "Not the Lord of Vermillion. We already have someone to cast that." He said as he pointed towards Zephyr, who was STILL frozen to the spot.

"What I need is an even greater spell, one that can seep deep into the Golden Thief Bug, and freeze it from within. The powerful spell that creates a Blizzard colder than the North Wind itself. The great spell that made the Yukino clan so thoroughly feared."

"The Fury of the North Wind, Storm Gust."

* * *

Upon hearing him say those words, Chidori fell to her knees, grasping her head in pain. "No…" she said as various images flashed through her mind. A man, lying in a pool of blood. A man, impaled upon the roof of a house. A woman, crouching on the ground, hands wrapped tightly over the dead body of her son. Her son, whose mouth was opened in a silent scream…

"NO!" Chidori shouted, as flames erupted from beneath her, lunging at the swordsman. He immediately jumped aside, avoiding their hungry jaws, and watched as they continued to circle their mistress, protecting her from harm. "Chidori…" he began, but Chidori silenced him with a glare. "Stay back…" she said, eyes burning with hatred. "I'm warning you… Stay back…"

The swordsman gazed at her, and gently shook his head. "It's alright, Chidori…" he slowly said. "Whatever happened before is now a thing of the past… You must learn to let it go…"

"That doesn't change the fact that it's my fault!" Chidori snapped, as the flames blazed even higher, sealing him away from her. "I did it… I killed them all… "She said, tears flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks. "Zephyr… The townsfolk… Mum… Dad… I killed them all…" she continued, as she began beating her fists on the ground. "Even Valentine…" she added in a hushed whisper.

"It's alright now…" the swordsman said gently as he crossed the ring of fire. The flames licked at every inch of him and his cloak, setting it ablaze. He didn't flinch, however, as he continued to make his way towards her. "It's not your fault…"

"How can it not be my fault…" she said, her tears trickling down onto the floor. "It was I who cast that spell, wasn't it? It was I, who killed them all! It was all my doing!"

"You did not cast it on purpose, Chidori…" he said, as the flames burned through his cloak. "You did it subconsciously, as a protective measure."

"Have you never once wondered how you cast that spell?" he questioned, growing closer to Chidori. "It was all due to your inheritance. You received that spell from your father, the great Yukino Yuuichi. He passed the spell to you before he died." He said, as closed their distance, and stood face to face before her.

"That spell is a symbol of your heritage, your true identity, as a member of the Yukino clan. Do not fear it, as you have been doing these very few years. Learn to accept it, your true powers, powers passed down only through blood."

"Trust your powers, Chidori. Or, at the very least, trust your family."

"Easy for you to say!" Chidori yelled through her sobs. "It's not like you've done anything of the sort!"

"Let me tell you something, Chidori," he said darkly. "I, too, have a Forbidden Spell coursing within me."

Chidori's sobs stopped abruptly, as the flames around her quieted down. Still shaking, she turned to look at the swordsman. "Who... are you?" she asked again. The swordsman smiled, as he said, "Someone from your past. Someone who has forgiven you for what you have done." By now, his entire cloak had burned away, revealing sturdy chain mail beneath it. His hood, however, was still intact, and thus hiding his face from Chidori's view.

Chidori gasped, as she studied the design of his chain mail. "You're a… female?" she asked. The swordsman smiled, and said, "Precisely."

"I normally try my best to hide my sex, as it unfavorable towards me, a bounty hunter." She said, pausing a while before she continued "I do, however, go under the alias, the Crimson Cloak."

"Now I ask you once again, Yukino Chidori, are you willing to help me?"

* * *

Chidori looked at the female warrior, the Crimson Cloak for a moment, before she said, "But… I don't know how to use that spell…"

"Like I said before, Chidori," The Crimson Cloak interrupted. "Just trust your powers. If you trust them, they will undoubtedly show themselves before you."

Chidori thought for a while, before replying weakly, "Alright… I'll try my best…"

That seemed to satisfy the Crimson Cloak, who nodded at Chidori. Turning her head towards the frozen Zephyr, she waved her blade, and released Zephyr from his icy prison. "Now," she said. "We have three forbidden spell users here. That should be enough to end this menace."

"Wait a second," Zephyr said. "Who said anything about co-operating?"

The Crimson Cloak turned towards Zephyr, and said darkly. "Zephyr," she rasped. "If you want to live, you better do as we say."

"How dare you threaten the Chief Advisor of Prontera! I'll have you jailed for this!" Zephyr yelled hotly. The Crimson Cloak shot a deadly glance at Zephyr. With a sudden movement, she appeared before him, her sword held closely under his throat. "Do you honestly think," she said, a tone of annoyance in her voice, "That I fear you, or your petty laws?"

"Well let me say something." She said through gritted teeth. "I am a bounty hunter. And we bounty hunters are bound to no laws. I can slit your throat here to silence you, and I would have done so if you had not possessed a Forbidden Spell."

"Should you co-operate with us, I will forget that empty threat of yours, and let you live. However, should you refuse…" she said as she brought her sword extremely close to Zephyr's neck.

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Zephyr screamed. "Just get that sword away from me!"

Satisfied, the Crimson Cloak withdrew her sword, and said, "Very well. Open a Water Zone and we'll get started."

"Water Zone?" Zephyr asked, puzzled. "A DELUGE, you old fool!" Valentine snapped. Zephyr immediately threw her a sign of deepest loathing, as if he would have loved to strangle her by her neck. In the end, he gave in and brought out his wand. "Deluge," he said smugly, as he pointed his wand at the floor. A huge jet of water flew out from his wand, submerging the Golden Thief Bug and his minions in water. The MVP let out a roar, as it once again renewed its attack.

Axis charged at the MVP and leapt up upon its back, once again pulling at its horns. The MVP struggled to free itself of Axis' iron grasp, as Sky moved it and delivered an uppercut below the Golden Thief Bug's jaws. The Golden Thief Bug roared loudly, as it flailed wildly, trying to shake Axis off. "Chidori, on a count of three!" Axis bellowed. "Let's end this together!"

Chidori watched her two comrades, and, with utmost determination, nodded. She stepped forwards, and focused her thoughts. "Father…" she thought, as she slowly closed her eyes. "It is time to show me, what you tried to pass down to me eight years ago…"

An incantation slowly formed in Chidori's mind, as well as various symbols. Chidori watched as they materialized before her eyes. Lifting her right hand, she slowly traced the symbols in the air, as she recited the incantations aloud. Although they were of a different tongue, Chidori knew exactly what they meant. She wasn't sure how, she just had a hunch that they were right.

"Hound of Ice, hear my plea,"  
"Help me fulfill my destiny;"  
"At my command, show your face,"  
"Cover everything before you in your icy embrace!"

"THE FURY OF THE NORTH WIND! STORM GUST!"

At her command, the air suddenly grew unearthly cold. She looked up as the sky darkened, and a huge blizzard slowly descended from the sky. With a sweep of her hand, Chidori released her Storm Gust, commanding it to strike down upon the Golden Thief Bug. The wind howled furiously, as an image of an icy wolf struck down from the sky and clawed at the Golden Thief Bug, freezing everything around it with its icy breath. The entire field was covered in a sheet of satin white, as the MVP tried hard to resist the cold fangs of the Ice Hound. The blizzard sent the countless thief bugs flying in all directions, scattering them across the field. It was at this moment that Zephyr chose to release his own Forbidden Spell, the powerful lightning of the heavens.

"WRATH OF THE VALKYRIE!" Zephyr bellowed. "LORD OF VERMILLION!"

The dark sky was immediately dyed a deep crimson, as a huge flash of lightning surged down from the sky, followed by three similar rays of light. Zephyr skillfully commanded the bolts of lightning, and focused them onto the massive bulk of the Golden Thief Bug. Upon contact, the huge bolts of lightning exploded, before rebounding up towards the sky, leaving huge explosions on the ground. The Golden Thief Bug let out an inhuman shriek, as it felt its flesh being tore open beneath it by the powerful blasts. Axis pulled hard, lifting the MVP's head so that its neck was exposed. Zephyr channeled the last bolt towards its unprotected neck, hoping to destroy it once and for all. The final bolt impaled its neck and bounced back up towards the sky, leaving a deep gash on its horrendous neck.

Chidori seized this opportunity to deliver the final blow. Channeling all her power in the form of a final, destructive wave, she weaved together all her remaining energy and once again cried, "STORM GUST!"

The sky once again darkened, as the great hound of ice descended again from the heavens. Aiming at the Golden Thief Bug's neck, it let loose a great howl, as it tore at the MVP's flesh. The Golden Thief Bug let out its final shriek, as the force of the Storm Gust tore open the wound on its neck, and ripped apart its shell from its body, exposing its weak, inner body. The ice hound showed no hesitation as it clawed at the MVP's tender body, ripping it apart and sending blood flying everything. After it had finished mutilating the Golden Thief Bug's body, the hound of ice once again ascended into the heavens, awaiting its next order from its mistress.

The Incarnation of the Snow, Yukino Chidori.

* * *

Alright, end of the Golden Thief Bug AND the Prontera Arc. Please review, both as a chapter and an entire story arc! Thanks a lot! 


	10. Aftermath! King Tristram III's Decision!

**Chapter 10: Aftermath! King Tristram III's decision**

Chidori watched as her Storm Gust subsided, leaving the carcass of the Golden Thief Bug behind. She couldn't believe her eyes. The almighty MVP, the Golden Thief Bug, dead, killed by her powerful Storm Gust. The deadly creature that took entire armies to defeat was now dead.

"Wow," she exclaimed in awe. She never thought that she possessed such a powerful spell. To think that all these years she had been running away from it! Fleeing from her true heritage, her true identity! She now knew why the Yukino clan was so thoroughly feared by the other wizard clans. She fully understood why her family was hailed as the greatest wizard clan ever, even amongst other powerful clans like the Galewing clan.

It was due to the Storm Gust.

"All right," the Crimson Cloak said as she sheathed her saber. "It's time for me to go."

"Aren't you staying?" Chidori cried. The Crimson Cloak smiled as she turned her back towards her. "The Golden Thief Bug has been destroyed. The Ice Hound has been uncaged. My job here is done."

"But why can't you stay?" Chidori asked. "After all, we may be heading towards the same destination, right?"

"I have no destination, Chidori," the Crimson Cloak said curtly. "I am a bounty hunter. I go wherever my job takes me too."

"Then why did you come here? What was your job this time?" Chidori questioned. The Crimson Cloak merely smiled, as she replied mysteriously, "Oh but this was an exception. I came here to ensure the unchaining of the Ice Hound went smoothly."

Chidori looked at her, very much confused. "But what does my Storm Gust have to do with you?" she asked once again.

"Let's make it simple." The Crimson Cloak said. "The unchaining of the Ice Hound shall greatly benefit me."

"In other words, Chidori, I want your Storm Gust."

Chidori let out a gasp, "Y...you can't be serious, right?" she said shakily. "If you had wanted the Storm Gust, you would have taken it when I was defenseless back then."

The Crimson Cloak gave her another mysterious smile. "But that would spoil the fun, wouldn't it?" she said.

"But don't worry," she said as she sensed Chidori's anxiety. "I won't take your Storm Gust... Yet." She then turned her back to Chidori and made her way towards the setting sun.

"But I thought you had already forgiven me!" Chidori cried out loud as she Crimson Cloak turned to leave. "I thought that you were on my side!"

The Crimson Cloak stopped abruptly in her tracks, as she said, "I never once said we were friends..." With that, she picked up her speed, and began dashing towards the glorious sunset, leaving behind a very much hurt Chidori.

* * *

A week later, Chidori, Tsukiyo, Sky and Axis were kneeling before the king, heads bowed low.

Thanks to the Crimson Cloak's mysterious medication, Tsukiyo had made a swift recovery, and was now fully recovered after being treated by the Pronteran Priests. He now knelt before the king along with his comrades, awaiting what his highness had to say.

Sky suffered minor injuries, and was patched up in no time at all. Axis, being a royal knight, was entitled to special medication. The last time Sky saw him, he was carrying the hollow exterior of the Golden Thief Bug into the castle. Throughout the week, he had pondered hard. Axis's fighting style seemed vaguely familiar, as if he had seen it before, not long ago...

Chidori was perhaps the one hurt most in this ordeal, not only physically but also mentally. Her brief encounter with the Crimson Cloak had given her the motivation to cast the Storm Gust, but it was also the Crimson Cloak who had shattered her spirit by claiming that she would one day steal her Storm Gust, just as she finally thought that she had found a true friend.

Now, a week later, the king of Prontera, King Tristram III summoned them into his audience chamber. They now knelt before him, not knowing what to expect.

"Sky Zanryuu," the king said in a majestic tone. "Although you are not a citizen of Prontera, you gave it your all in order to defeat the MVP the Golden Thief Bug. I am truly grateful for your efforts, and will see to it that you are handsomely rewarded,"

Sky bowed his head, before saying, "Pardon me your highness, but there is something that I wish for more than any amount of riches you could offer."

King Tristram III was interested. "Go on." he commanded. Sky nodded before continuing, "Your highness, if possible I would wish for your immediate attention." After finishing his sentence, he reached into his cloak and retrieved a thick brown envelope. "This is something my Guild Master wishes me to deliver. Your personal attention, your highness, would be above all rewards the Pronteran Empire could possibly offer."

"I see," King Tristram III said as he waved his hand. Two foot soldiers immediately retrieved the envelope and handed it to the king. "I assure you that I shall read it as soon as I have dismissed you all," he said as he laid the envelope upon his lap. "You are dismissed, Sky Zanryuu."

Sky stood up, gave a deep bow, and finally retreated. The king now focused his attention towards the remaining three. "Axis," he said. "I will personally speak to Lord Shark after this. You can expect a promotion any time soon. Dismissed."

Axis stood up and saluted before leaving the chamber. King Tristram III then turned to Chidori and said, "Yukino Chidori, although you did play a vital role in the annihilation of the Golden Thief Bug, you did, however, assault my Chief Advisor, Zephyr Galewing. This act of high treason is normally punishable by death, but this time I shall make an exception and let you go."

Chidori bowed, before saying, "I am grateful, your highness, but if possible, I have a request to make."

At her request, Zephyr flew into a rage. "How dare you utter such a statement, you ungrateful woman!" He bellowed. "You should..."

"Silence, Zephyr!" King Tristram III roared. "She was the one who delivered the killing blow, and thanks to her you and I are still standing here in one piece!" Turning towards Chidori, the king said, "Speak, what do you wish for? I will do everything I can to fulfill it."

Chidori looked up at the king, and said, "Your highness, I humbly ask you not to pursue the A-class criminal the Crimson Cloak."

Upon hearing this, Zephyr went berserk. "Ignore her?" he shouted. "She attacked me and threatened to kill me should I refuse to co-operate! Such acts are highly unforgivable! Your highness, this is totally unheard of and..."

"SILENCE, ZEPHYR!" King Tristram III roared again. "How dare you order me around! One more word and I shall have you thrown you out of this chamber!"

Zephyr immediately fell silent, and the king continued. "I'm sure you have your reasons, Yukino. Please kindly state them."

Chidori cleared her throat, before continuing. "Your highness, I think I should rephrase my request. I hope that you do not pursue the A-class criminal the Crimson Cloak but instead allow me to settle my score with her personally."

King Tristram III was shocked, but he quickly recovered. "Very well," he said. "I leave the hunting of the Crimson Cloak to you. Do you have any further requests?"

Chidori bowed her head, and said, "I am truly grateful, your highness. I have nothing more to ask for."

"Very well then. You may leave,"

"Thank you, your highness" Chidori said as she left the audience chamber. Now only Tsukiyo was left.

* * *

"Tsukiyo Sousuke," King Tristram III said. "Needless to say, your post as an acolyte of the church will be reinstated. You can return..."

"Pardon me for interrupting, your highness, but I too have a favor to ask." Tsukiyo interrupted. "Three, in fact." He said uncertainly.

King Tristram III raised his eyebrows. "Speak, Tsukiyo. I may consider them, but no promises."

Tsukiyo gulped, before continuing. "First of all, your highness, I would like to enlist your help to locate someone." King Tristram III looked at him, before saying, "Done. Continue."

"Second, I wish to personally pursue this person, without the aid of Pronteran forces. Something personal, just like Chidori."

King Tristram III nodded and said, "Very well. And the third?"

Tsukiyo braced himself, and finally said, "I wish to be given the authority to execute him, rather than take him into custody." King Tristram III paused for a while, before finally nodding. "Granted. And who is this character you wish to execute?"

Tsukiyo paused, before finally saying, "The corrupt acolyte, Kira Galewing."

Beside the king, Zephyr's staff came crashing onto the ground, leaving the stunned sage there, too shocked for words.

* * *

King Tristram closed his eyes and thought deeply. Kira was indeed a wanted man, but since he was Zephyr's grandson, the king had promised Zephyr that he wouldn't be executed. He was faced with a dilemma, to either side with the church, or with his chief advisor.

"Very well," he finally said. "I guess you leave me not choice." He opened his mouth to reveal the location of the traitor, Kira, when Zephyr suddenly stopped him. "Kira Galewing was last seen in Geffen, the arcane city of magic." Zephyr said shortly.

This time it was the king's turn to be surprised. He turned to look at Zephyr, who had just made that statement.

"Rules are rules, your highness," he said as if reading his mind. "Traitors must be put to justice, even if they are... connected... with us..."

The king looked at Zephyr, before saying, "I'm glad you understand, Zephyr." Turning to Tsukiyo, King Tristram commanded, "Tsukiyo Sousuke, I give you full authority to hunt down the traitor Kira Galewing. After you have captured him, I will leave him to your mercy."

Tsukiyo got up and bowed, before slowly retreating out of the audience chamber. "Geffen," he thought as he clenched his fists tightly. "I'll definitely pay you back, Kira Galewing!"

END OF CHAPTER TEN

* * *

Heh, sorry this chapter took so long. My modem crashed and I was left without an Internet connection for weeks >   
This chapter is the transition chapter between the two arcs, marking the end of the Prontera Arc, and the beginning of the Geffen Arc. Next chapter will bring them to Geffen /heh


	11. To Geffen! Conspiracy Revealed!

Alright, here comes the next saga, the Geffen Saga. Definately more interesting than the first, I assure you ;)

* * *

**Chapter 11: To Geffen! Conspiracy revealed!**

A huge tower spiraled up from within the walls of an ancient city, as if looking watch over the entire metropolis, casting a long shadow over those beneath it. Hundreds of visitors gathered around the tower, like ants swarming over a chunk of sugar. This was the famous Geffen Tower, which rose high above the city, and situated directly in the heart of Geffen, the arcane city of magic. Each day, hundreds of visitors would flock to the tower. Some of them were normal travelers who wanted a look at the famous artifact; others seeked to purchase the mysterious concoctions brewed by the Geffen high wizards and Albertan Alchemists alike. Most of them, however, were novices who hoped to become a mage. Here, they would apply for a job change test, and, if they passed it, would become a fully qualified magician.

A lone figure, draped in a swirling traveling cloak, approached the tower, holding something close to his heart, clutching it tightly as if his life depended on it. As he watched the novices stand in line, he let out a small laugh as he recalled his oldern days, where he too once stood in line.

Wasting no time, the traveler proceeded to enter the tower. Upon presenting his identity card, he was allowed instant access into the tower. "Good job, Master Kira," the guard whispered as he let him through. Kira smiled beneath his hood, and, without replying, entered the Geffen Tower.

* * *

Miles away, a party of three ran across the Pronteran Fields, heading towards their next destination. One of them was a wizard, who wore a Marduk's Helm upon her head. She moved surprisingly fast for a wizard, as if she was gliding on the winds, being extremely fast and extremely silent.

Leading the party was a dark black shadow, which moved so fast that his movements were rendered unseen by the naked eye. He was an assassin, an elite soldier who served the mysterious assassin guild. He was clad entirely in black, as most assassins usually were, in order to effectively conceal himself. His head of white hair, though, strongly clashed with his jet black outfit, juxtaposing it like the stars in the dead of the night.

The last of the three was an acolyte, tall in stature and also heavy on foot. He was the slowest of the three, as he struggled to catch up. He was, however, showing no signs of fatigue, and it appeared that he was well built physically. Together, the three made their way towards the tall tower of Geffen, determined to reach there before nightfall.

* * *

"Well done, Kira," a tall figure, seated behind a chair, said, rubbing his fingers in glee. Before him lay a stack of documents, pages worn yellow by age, and edges curled by the flow of time. "I never would have thought that the manuscripts would one day be mine..." he said, more to himself.

"Thank you, your Excellency," Kira said. "I trust that my bounty is ready?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll personally make sure that you're handsomely rewarded."

Kira bowed low again, before continuing. "Your Excellency, I beg your pardon, but can you reveal to me the true purpose of you wishing to obtain the documents?"

The seated figure smiled, before saying, "I have with me another part of the documents that were scattered across Midgard a millennium ago. I wish to gather all parts of them and form a complete collection."

"But your Excellency, what do these documents contain?" Kira asked in confusion. The seated figure's grin grew even wider, as he said, "These papers contain the very secrets to reviving the ancient MVPs, the greatest creatures of all time. Once I have gathered them, I will unseal all of them and, with them under my rule, take control of the entire world!"

Kira smiled as he lowered his head. "Just as I thought..." he said softly. The seated figure looked at him in surprise, before asking, "What did you say again, Kira?" Kira continued to smile, as he slowly approached the figure. "You really think..." he said, as he drew closer to the figure."That we will go quietly under that stupid rule of yours?" as he talked, he moved dangerously close to the figure, who began backing away in fear.

"What are you talking about, Kira?" he asked as he continued to back away. Kira said nothing as he continued to make his way towards him, until at last he stood right in front of the figure. "Nothing..." he said, as he slowly lifted his head. At sight of him, the figure grew pale, as he immediately let loose a blast of thunder. "Jupitel Thunder!" he roared, bolts of electricity crackling out from his fingertips. Kira merely laughed as he threw on his cloak, absorbing the full force of the blast. "Futile!" he roared as he threw his cloak aside, and sprang towards the wizard. The wizard didn't even have a chance to scream, let alone defend himself, as Kira plunged his abnormally long fangs into his neck.

Minutes later, the wizard fell to the floor, dead. Kira stood up and licked his lips, cleaning whatever leftover blood there was on his lips. "Tasty," he said sadistically. "I always loved it."

"The taste of greed."

* * *

Chidori and the party looked up in awe as the great Geffen Tower shot up from the ground, covering them in the huge shadow it cast. "Impressive," Chidori said. "To think that someone actually managed to build something this tall, and this strong, a millennium ago."

"It certainly is," Sky said. "The Geffen Tower is one of the 7 great mysteries of Midgard, along with the pyramids of Morroc and the floating gardens of Gonyrun. In fact, many still come here to investigate this tower, to find out what force holds it straight."

"However, a strange phenomenon has been happening these recent few years. Those who research the tower have found out that it has been in fact leaning more and more each year, starting from a few years back. Many have speculated that a mysterious force has been keeping the tower standing these hundred years, and that force is fast running out." Sky continued to explain.

"We don't have time for history lessons, Sky," Tsukiyo snapped. "We're here to capture that traitor, Kira Galewing."

"Relax, Tsukiyo," Sky said lazily. "He's here. I know he is."

"How can you be so sure?" Tsukiyo said hotly. "Because," Sky replied in a lazy tone, "I can feel a dark aura radiating out from this place."

"Kira came here for a reason, and that's exactly the same reason he stole those darned papers." Sky continued. "Kira is interested in releasing the MVPs."

Chidori was shocked. "But that's impossible! Not many know about them! Even I haven't heard of them before!" she exclaimed.

"My guess is that someone leaked the information out to Kira." Sky said simply. "And that someone most probably told him to steal the manuscripts in order to find the location of the MVP."

"But who is the MVP of Geffen?" Tsukiyo asked. Sky looked deeply at Tsukiyo, before finally saying, "The ever-increasing Dracula."

Each MVP had a nick name that most liked to use in their discussions, as most consider the use of their real names a taboo. Each name referred to the attribute and specialty of the MVP, and usually began with the word "ever". In the Dracula's case, he was called the ever-increasing due to his abilities to absorb the knowledge from opponents by sucking their blood.

"The... Ever... Increasing?" Chidori asked, clueless about what was happening. Sky shook his head and said, "I don't really know the details, either, but I do know that by sucking your blood, he can immediately gain access to all of your powers."

"Including your Forbidden Powers like the Storm Gust and Lord of Vermillion."

Chidori grew pale at that statement. "If so, how are we supposed to kill it?" She asked. "It's exactly like dueling a mirror image of ourselves!"

"Not quite," Sky said. "Dracula can only receive your powers after he has feasted on your blood. Without your blood, he cannot mimic your spells."

"So Chidori," Sky said, "In the unlikely event that the Dracula is indeed released, you must not let him get hold of your blood, or all hell shall be let loose. Literally," he added.

Chidori gulped, before saying, "Alright, I'll try my best..." That seemed to satisfy Sky, as he said, "Well, are you ready to hunt Kira down, before he releases the MVP?"

Tsukiyo nodded immediately, as the both of them turned towards Chidori. She in turn looked at the both of them, and, very slowly, took in a deep breath and nodded her head. Inside her body, a huge wave of sickness washed over her.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

The moonlight poured over the city of Geffen, covering it in a sheet of satin white. The whole town was fast asleep, leaving the corridors deserted, and streets empty.

In the middle of the night, three figures slowly made their way through the darkness, towards the great Geffen Tower. The tower was off limits to all during the night, and it was guarded heavily by two knights and three wizards.

"This is going to be tricky," Sky said, as he watched the five guard the entrance. "We need to sneak in quietly..."

"Decrease Agility!" Tsukiyo roared as he charged out towards the guards. Instantly, two spears flew towards him, thrown by the knights, aimed directly at his heart. Tsukiyo, however, didn't even flinch. Raising his hand, he commanded, "Pneuma!"

A huge, blue, misty barrier shot up from beneath Tsukiyo and shielded him from the attack. The spears entered the barrier and dissolved into nothingness, just as Tsukiyo charged forward and walloped a knight on the face.

"So much for stealth," Chidori mumbled. No sooner than she had stepped out from her hiding place, two balls of thunder shot towards her. She narrowly avoided the first, as the second bolt knocked her squarely in the middle and sent her flying back. "Chidori!" Tsukiyo yelled as he watched Chidori fly through the air. Before he could heal her, a furious blast of lightning sent him flying, as the remaining wizard threw a bolt of lightning at him.

Sky emerged from beneath one of the wizards, and immediately buried his katars in him. As soon as he had ended his life, he glided to the next and proceeded to end his life.

"Safety wall!" The wizard yelled as he raised a pink wall before him, deflecting Sky's furious blows. Before Sky could retreat to safety, the wizard shot a blast of howling thunder at him, throwing him back.

"This is getting annoying," he thought as he went into cloaking mode. Not wasting any time, the wizards generated orbs of fire to sense him out. The light from the flames threw Sky's disguise off, as the wizards threw a barrage of spells at him.

"Jupitel Thunder! Fire Bolt!"

Sky closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact. Just as they were about to hit him, a dark shadow moved forward and intercepted the spells.

"Magic Rod!" it cried as it turned the spells into chunks of raw energy to absorb. Not wasting any time, the shadow immediately charged an attack of his own. "Colt bolt!" It cried as bolts of ice rained down from the sky and impaled the wizard, killing him instantly. The remaining wizard began chanting a spell, but before he could finish, the shadow broke his cast by yelling "Spell Breaker!"

The enemy wizard immediately lost his focus and stopped chanting immediately. Taking advantage of this, the shadow ended his life by sending a huge bolt of lightning at him. "Lightning Bolt!" he roared, as the spell delivered a thousand volts of electricity throughout his body, destroying his inner organs, and ending his life instantly.

Meanwhile, Sky was busy taking on the knights, who had begun their assault on the shadow. Without the wizard's safety wall, Sky easily dispatched them via his flurry of Sonic Blows, leaving the path clear for them to enter.

Wasting no time, the shadow ploughed through the gates and entered the tower. Sky quickly took out two herbs from his body, and crushed tem into fine powder. He then went to the unconscious Tsukiyo and Chidori, and placed the herbs into their mouths.

A few minutes later, the both of them began to stir. "We've got no time to waste," Sky said urgently. "We have to go now!"

"What..." Tsukiyo said grudgingly. "What's the rush?"

"Someone else is in there!" Sky said urgently. "Someone else is infiltrating the tower, and I fear that it's Kira!"

* * *

Sky was wrong, though. It wasn't Kira who had broken through. Kira was literally six feet underground, far below the Geffen Tower, in a secret basement not many knew about. Within his hands he held two manuscripts, as he chanted mysterious words of a strange tongue.

"That's as far as you'll go, Kira."

Kira turned to see who had made that statement. His lips curled at the sight of the intruder.

"Ah, it's been years, hasn't it?" he called out, with an excited tone. "Zephyr Galewing!"

Zephyr bent his body and readied himself. "How dare you call your grandfather by his first name, you traitorous wretch." He said as he pulled out his wand. "Perhaps its time I teach you some manners."

Kira laughed as he too brandished a wand of his own. "Oh but I don't think so, old man." Kira rasped menacingly. "In fact," he continued, "I think that I'll just kill you, and drain your precious Lord of Vermillion."

Zephyr said nothing but merely stared at Kira, who followed suit and remained silent. Both could feel the power radiating out from the other, and both knew that they were evenly matched.

As Chidori and the party headed down towards where the two were, a clock on the wall struck midnight, sending an eerie chime throughout the entire city. And it was exactly midnight that the two great wizards dueled.

A fierce duel, to the death, between the two separate masters of the Galewing clan.

END OF CHAPTER 11

* * *


End file.
